


This ain't no place for no Hero

by QueerZubat



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Artistic Liberties - because this is my reality and i do what i want, Borderlands: Borderlands 2, Canon Divergence - Handsome Jack doesn't die, Canon-Typical Violence, Found Family, Gen, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm bulshitting my way through this story, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Jack Being an Asshole, Jack Being an Idiot, Jack being Jack, Non-Graphic Violence, Not Beta Read, OC-driven plot? probably?, Post-Borderlands 2, Trans Male Character, and because jack needs to learn how to be a good (or an acceptable) parent, as a treat, is this a Redemption AU? idk, the tags are a mess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:14:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28741590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueerZubat/pseuds/QueerZubat
Summary: Jack escapes from the Vault, switching places with one of his doubles, but a twist of bad luck leaves him stranded and wounded in the middle of the Pandoran nowhere. But someone finds and helps him. Luck is again on his side? Or is it again another sick joke of the fate?Alec didn't know who that half-dead man on the road was, not until he decided to scavenge his stuff and saw his face. The infamous masked face of Handsome Jack. Maybe he could earn more keeping him alive? Probably it's worth a try..._____Rated M, just in case...Probably the title will change (again) when I'll find something that fits better.
Relationships: Handsome Jack & Original Male Character
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	1. Dead Man Walking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I wrote this first chapter instead of sleeping because I couldn't take it out of my mind.  
> I have no friggin' idea what I'm doing with this and I'm seriously faking it until I make it because I have nothing planned... but starting to write this was not planned either, so I guess we'll discover together what will happen.

How were those friggin' Vault Hunters able to kill his Warrior? He was practically a god! It was a freaking Vault Monster! And now they were going to kill him too. They were going to kill Handsome Goddamn Jack. But he wouldn't let those filthy bandits kill him. Oh, no. No one will end the life of Handsome Jack. The life of the true Hero.

No one noticed. No one noticed how, in the middle of the battle, he swapped off with one of his doubles. HELL, _they are so stupid_ , probably they were paying attention to the digistruct copies and didn't see that the real one swapped his place.

That double was perfect. Almost. That guy was a bit too much obsessed with him, enough to be damn willing to alter his body and not use the digi-watch disguise. Enough to be the only one not pleading for mercy when Jack branded all the doubles to match. Some days that guy was able to give Jack the creeps. And this was a great way to kill two rakks with one stone: those suckers will think that they'll have killed the real Jack and he'll have that creep removed from existence. _Perfection_.

Jack coughed, blood dripping from his mouth, while stumbled trying to walk the few remaining meters to reach the fast-travel station he made his engineers install in that secret nook when he reached the Vault. He was heavily wounded, even if he was able to swap places mid-combat. His left arm was aching terribly, probably it had broken bones other than bullet wounds, and was kept folded against his side. The side that was bleeding because that freakin' masked assassin was able to slice him with that freaking katana.

He was heavily wounded, bleeding, aching in pain, but soon he'll be in the safety of his office on Helios and will soon be in the hands of his skilled medical staff. And then, he'll be back again.

His vision was starting to get a bit fuzzy on the borders, the blood from his head was dripping in his eyes. But that didn't stop him. Jack's good arm gripped the fast-travel station to steady himself, shook his head for a second and then with trembling fingers and blurry vision tapped the code for the fast-travel station in his office. He grinned and pressed the button.

The world warped around him, engulfing his damaged figure and transporting him away from the Vault.

When the fast-travel ended, Jack wasn't greeted by the sight of his office. When his legs gave out and he fell, he did not meet the familiar cold metal flooring of Helios.

He was greeted by the Pandoran night, lighted by the clear light reflected by Elpis. His wounded body met the dust of the Pandoran barren lands.

_Fuck-_

Because of the blurry, unfocused, vision and trembling hands, he didn't notice that he inserted the wrong code.

And now he was going to die anyway. He was going to

_...die in this armpit of a planet. Like a friggin' nobody._

Jack braced himself and gathered all his remaining energies trying to get back on his feet. To get up and reach the station near him, insert the code right and go away.

His right arm gave out, and his legs were too weak because of the slashes and the bullet wounds. He lost and was losing too much blood.

He tried again, but this time his body didn't cooperate.

He was starting to lose consciousness.

But he didn't want to die.

Not there.

If it was meant for him to die, he should have died in the Vault.

Not there in the middle of the nowhere in that dumpster-fire of a planet.

Not like a no one. He is a hero. He is Handsome Jack and Handsome Jack does not die literally biting the dust in a land forgotten by the gods.

Jack grasped at all his remaining forces, like a vicious animal, trying to remain awake, to remain alive.

_I won't die here. I can't die here._

But his forces were waning. Blood created a muddy puddle in the dirt under him. And remaining awake, remaining conscious, was becoming a very difficult task.

He was starting to drift in and out of consciousness, and moment after moment every time he went out that time became longer.

Jack didn't notice when a truck stopped nearby, not until something touched his body. Barely able to crack open an eye, he only saw a bit of dusty and well-worn combat boots.

_A frigging looter. I'm not even dead, and someone is already trying to get my stuff._

His mind went black again, and when he was able to regain a little bit of lucidity, he noticed that he wasn't lying anymore face down in the dirt, but was on his back. And not on the ground. It felt like being in a backseat of some vehicle, his ears felt like filled with cotton but was able to discern the sound of an engine.

Jack wanted to get up, to say something, to do anything. He wanted to understand what was going on.

But his forces gave up again sending him in the dark.

* * *

Jack was in pain. He felt like every inch of his body had been munched and then spitted back by a rabid skag. Last time he felt so much pain was when that red-haired bitch smashed that artefact on his face back in Eleseer.

But if he was feeling pain, then that meant that he was still alive and not dead.

A bit by bit he was regaining consciousness.

He heard something shuffling nearby, something clinking, other unidentified noises. He felt his left arm blocked, constricted. He felt something pressed around his body. He felt that was lying on something at the same time soft and uncomfortable.

From the noises he was hearing, it seemed that there was someone else in the room. Near.

He heard again some shuffling and thought to keep remaining still, to try understanding what was happening around him. To gather more energies to get up.

Then Jack felt a hand touching his face. Trying to open one of the clasps of his mask.

His right hand darted, grabbing the stranger's wrist and yanking away that hand from his face. The sudden grip startled the stranger that let out an undignified high-pitched yelp in surprise and pain for the force used by that grip.

Jack opened his eyes to look in the face whoever was the owner of the hand that tried to remove his mask.

_A kid._

Jack frowned. He was staring at what looked like a kid with dark brown eyes wide in alarm, marked by dark circles as if it was long time since last time he slept properly, scarred light skin and ruffled light brown hair that seemed like a bird-nest. The kid remained silent and still, eyes focused on him, so Jack continued studying that kid without lifting his grip on the other's wrist.

The youngster was wearing a t-shirt that probably used to be dark green, with a black-ish DAHL logo on it, that looked like two sizes or bigger for him. His legs were covered by a seemingly old pair of black joggers and a battered pair of canvas shoes. A pair of glasses that must have seen better days was peeking from the tousled hair. The kid was sitting on an old coffee table, filled with a couple of medikit boxes open, various bottles and rolls of gauze, he spotted also a couple of empty Anshin's hypos. Eyes returned on the kid, and now Jack noticed how in the other's right hand there was a cloth probably wet with disinfectant.

Jack's gaze moved on himself. He was on an old battered sofa. His left arm was carefully wrapped in bandages, so where all his injuries.

He didn't know if to be baffled by the fact that he was still alive and kicking or

"Could... could you let my arm free?" the boy's voice broke Jack's train of thoughts. His mismatched eyes returned on the kid's face and stalled for a moment before opening the hand and letting the other free.

The youngster moved a bit his hand, rotated it a couple of times as if to check if there was something broken.

"Uh... it seems that those Anshins worked" smiled the boy, "I wonder if it'll bruise" added, with a little grimace, moving his eyes to the wrist.

Jack remained silent, for the first time in... ages he was at a loss of words. Well, in another context, probably he would have joked about leaving bruises in other circumstances - especially if the other person was a woman - or said something menacing to make the other know who was the big dog around. But in front of him, there's a kid. From his looks, probably around Angel's age? Or not that far from it. Angel, she was-

Again his train of thoughts was interrupted when the boy tried again to reach for his face.

"Don't touch the mask or this time you'll be lucky to get only a broken wrist" Jack growled, his voice cracked lightly after not having used it for who knows how much time.

"Ah-" exhaled the kid, retreating his hand a bit "But... I need to clean better your head wounds. And probably there's caked blood and...and grime under it." he gestured lightly with the right hand still holding the cloth with disinfectant.

"Do. Not." spat Jack

The boy opened his mouth as if to say something back, but then he raised lightly his shoulders in a small shrug "Okay, I'll work around it" he sighed, leaning again forward.

This time his left hand did not try to unlatch the mask's clasps but to move the thick - and now matted with the dirt and blood that stuck to them and the hair-gel - locks away from Jack's forehead. Then the kid carefully used the cloth damp with disinfectant to clean the wound from the dried out blood and check its status.

The hypos mostly fixed the worse wounds and stopped the bleeding, but the ones used weren't still enough to completely heal the man. He needed more, maybe something stronger, but as much as they were useful they were also tricky to use. Too much at once or too close in time-span could cause the body to become immune to their effects... or worse, it could fuck up the natural healing ability of the body.

Both remained silent. And the atmosphere in that room felt thick enough to be cut with a knife.

It was Jack that decided to break the silence "Where I am?"

"At my house" replied flatly the boy, finishing to clean the man's wound.

"No shit, kiddo" huffed the man "Where?"

"Dahl Headlands"

Jack rolled his eyes. Of course, being alive was a lucky strike but that's it. He was on enemy grounds. On an armpit of a planet. _Fuck_.

Probably his emotions showed on his face because the kid looked like he was going to say something, but then he didn't. The teen retracted his hand and changed a bit his sitting position to grab one of the medikit boxes and rummage in it.

"You're Dahl."

The teenager lifted his head from the contents of the box to look at Jack with a questioning expression. He replied with a gesture of his right hand, pointing at the boy's shirt.

The boy lowered his head and looked at the logo. "Oh, right" commented softly before resuming his rummaging in the box "But no. This is my father's." said, taking out what looked like a tube of antiseptic gel.

"He's making you guard me? Tend to my wounds so he'll be able to kill me and take my head to Dahl headquarters?"

The kid popped open the cap of the antiseptic and lifted his gaze to meet Jack's. He blinked a couple of times, eyebrows knitting. "He's not" replied, squeezing a bit of antiseptic gel on the pad of his index finger.

"How could you be sur-OW!" Jack's question was interrupted by the stinging of the antiseptic that the teen started to spread on the forehead wound, without warning. Most probably to obtain that exact effect.

"Because he died many years ago" deadpanned the kid, cleaning the finger on the cloth used previously before closing the small tube of antiseptic and put it back in the box.

Jack was silent again. Tried to not focus on the stinging on his forehead or the pain on the rest of his body. He needed answers, but it was darn difficult thinking when everything ached!

This time it was the teenager that broke the silence "It was me."

Jack moved again the gaze on the kid.

" _I_ found you. _I_ decided to bring you home, and dude you're heavier than I expected, and _I_ am tending to your wounds. All alone." he opened the small pack containing the tiny butterfly plasters " _You're welcome_. Don't make me regret it" concluded, showing the man a thin-lipped smile.

Jack let out a hiss when the kid slapped not-so-nicely the butterfly stitches to the forehead wound.

"You'll regret it, kiddo" chuckled Jack

The teen raised an eyebrow "And why?"

"Well... when your mother will enter and see that you're healing Handsome Jack, since y'all idiots consider me the enemy, surely she'll freak out." chuckled "Maybe she'll also off me, or make you do it"

"She wouldn't do that. 'Do no harm' was her motto... probably she would have nursed you to full health and only then killed you." chuckled the teen "But that won't happen. _I'm aaall alone_." he shrugged, putting away the box of butterfly stitches, "You should be thankful that I learnt something from her or you'd be dead by now".

For a moment, Jack was again at a loss of words. He tried to not think too much about the fact that the person that rescued him was a kid - surely around his dear Angel's age - and that was alone. Alone a bit like how was he when he was a child...not counting the awful grandma.

He did not think about that and decided to fire the new shot.

"You'll regret it anyway, kiddo" smirked, "What makes you think that I won't kill you right aw-" but Jack was interrupted by a pressure on his bandaged arm that sent him a strong wave of pain that made him let out a pained howl.

The pressure then disappeared and the pain subsided in a throbbing ache. Jack opened his eyes, that he didn't even remember closing, and sent a bloodshot glare to the kid that now lightly patted the arm.

"Left forearm is broken, probably only the radius. I got out a couple of bullets from the arm but the bone is fine. I took out other bullets from various places of your body and I had to use two medium-strength Anshin hypos to stop the bleeding, especially because your left side was sliced open." listed the boy "You aren't in the condition for killing anyone right now." a light smile appeared on the boy's delicate face "Save your energies to heal, 'mkay?"

Jack opened his mouth, then he closed it.

The teenager got up from the coffee table "Since you're awake, I guess you'll be able to eat something. I can't give you the pain meds otherwise: they aren't good on an empty stomach." he walked some steps in the kitchen's direction "I'll make something light."

Jack kept silent, dumbfounded for being yet again at a loss of words. It was the pain, and the medications, surely it was that the cause of the difficulty of finding words.

The kid stopped and half-turned towards the couch where Jack was lying "Ah-" started as if he forgot to say something earlier "I'm armed. And also, I'm not scared of a wounded CEO that I patched up and made him wear my dad's trunks because his clothes were beyond saving" and with that, the boy vanished in the kitchen room.

Jack was at loss. A low chuckle escaped his lips, shook a little his head before carefully lifting his right arm to drape it on his masked face. Then he stopped halfway. Clothes beyond saving? His father's trunks? Jack moved the arm, this time to use it as a sort of lever on the old sofa's cushions to push himself and lift his torso enough to get a better glance of his body. He winced when his injured side sent him a jolt of pain, but he was able to settle to look at himself: bandages, gauze and what-not were scattered along his body, mostly on his torso and left arm, but also on his legs. And in fact, he was currently wearing a pair of knee-length grey gym pants. The only thing left from his outfit was the mask. He huffed and leaned back on the couch.

"Kiddo" Jack called him.

The sound of something metallic clattering on the floor and a not-so-muffled curse word came from the kitchen. Did he startle the kid?

"Yes?" came the boy's reply

"Where's my stuff?"

"As I said, your clothes were ruined. Trash," started the teenager "They were filled with rips, holes, covered in blood and mud... I also had to cut them in some points or I wouldn't be able to reach your wounds properly."

The man heard what seemed like the sound of a pot put on a stove and a drawer being opened.

"I would have left you in your underwear, but looks like someone likes going commando." a stifled chuckle interrupted the sentence "In this house, there is a 'no dicks out' policy so I had to make you wear something. Luckily I still had my father's stuff and it fit."

The noise of the drawer being slammed shut was followed by the sound of a couple of cabinet doors being opened and closed.

"Kiddo, I'm not a dumdum like your kind" argued Jack, tone getting angrier "Where is my goddamn stuff?"

"You didn't let me finish" complained the teen from the kitchen, from the noises, it seemed that was busy chopping something.

"Continue, then"

He heard the youngster sigh heavily. "Your tech-y stuff and the likes weren't in tiptop shape but looked like everything was still fine and working, so I put them away."

Just a moment before Jack was going to say something, the kid added "I didn't sell them, even if I was tempted" there was the sound of something metallic against metal, then the boy continued "I spent all the time nursing your sorry ass, no time to hit black markets" his tone of voice seemed almost...amused? "I'd have done that if you died on me, tho"

"I want my stuff back" commanded Jack

"Nope" replied the kid, popping the 'p', before opening the faucet of the kitchen sink.

"What?!" roared Jack, trying to get up from the couch, but waves of white pain made him regret it and leaned back. "Listen here kiddo" growled, hiding his pain from his commanding tone "I'm not here to play freaking games. I want my freaking things back."

He heard the youngster's steps getting closer again to the couch, eyes darting to search the kid. Glare sending daggers, but the teenager didn't seem touched either by the angry tone of voice or by the murdering glare and offered in response something that looked like a calm - if maybe a bit... annoyed? tired? - expression.

"I'll give 'em back, don't get your panties in a wad!" smiled the boy "But I'll do it when you'll be... less cranky. And your wounds will be in better conditions."

The kid then crouched near the sofa and extended the left arm, offering the man the glass of water he was holding in his hand "Drink up, you must be dehydrated"

Jack eyed the glass, then the boy and back the glass. To be honest, his throat was starting to feel dry. The man reluctantly grabbed the glass of water with his right arm and moved a bit on the sofa to get in a better position to drink... and also to ignore better that little smirk on the kid's face, it seemed like the guy was looking at a wild animal that has just accepted a treat from him.

"Your name?" Jack inquired, handing back the glass to the boy "Or I'll have to keep calling you kiddo?"

"I was wondering if you'll ever ask" chuckled the teen, taking the glass and standing back up, "Name's Alec".

"You seem kinda young."

"I know, but I'm an adult."

"You don't look like one, Alec" quipped Jack, a little sly smirk on his masked face.

Alec crossed his arms, chill expression starting to show something different. Jack raised slightly a brow. So is it that you need to do to make him lose that freaking calm smile? Question his age?

"If you want to know, you can simply ask." added the kid.

Jack rolled his eyes "Yeah, yeah" sighed "How old are you, Alec? Since you say you're an adult"

"I'm nineteen"

"A child, then" chuckled the man

"I'm an adult. And I saved your fucking life, asshole" fumed Alec, before storming towards the kitchen to tend to their future meal.

Jack then run a hand on his face.

_Holy shit. Nineteen. Angel would've been seventeen this year if she... if they... Fuck. He's a frigging child. And saved my life, for unknown reasons._


	2. Not Your Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we'll discover the not-so-hidden reason that pushed Alec into saving Jack's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't know where I'm going with this, no idea and complete lack of plot but - _hell_ \- looks like I'll be writing for this until my brain will get tired of it.  
> This chapter is shorter than the previous, but I felt that the next part was better as a separate chapter. ~~Idk if I'll update it fast as this one or not, tho.~~

Some old pillows were put behind Jack's back to prop him up enough to not strain the stitched side wound, but also enough to be comfortable while eating dinner. Broken and bandaged left arm was held in a sling but was able to keep the simple bowl of soup in his hand, while the good arm was used for eating.

Surely, he would have preferred something different, something better tasting than that darn soup but beggars can't be choosers and he should have been thankful enough that the kid was nursing him back to health.

Jack gulped down another spoonful of soup before lifting his mismatched eyes to look in the kid's direction. Alec was again sitting on the coffee table near the couch, battered glasses on his nose while he looked absorbed in doing something on his Echo. The blueish light from the screen was shining on his face and reflecting slightly on the glasses' lenses, the boy's eyebrows were knit in a concentrated expression.

"What" exhaled the kid, lifting his gaze from the device to intercept Jack's stare.

"The soup is awful" was the first thing that crossed Jack's mind.

Alec rolled his eyes "Yeah, that's standard MRE ration's soup. I tried to spice it up with some skag meat and spices, but the original taste covers everything" sighed "I've only rations around. Y'know, I was busy stitching you up and missed my weekly trip to stock the pantry."

Then, the teenager went back to doing whatever was doing with the Echo. Jack ate another spoonful of that mud-flavoured soup, eyes returning from time to time on the boy. Sizing him up. Trying to see if he could learn the other's intentions only by reading his body language. But as for now, he only noticed a couple of ticks in the kid: he tended to bite on the left thumb fingernail or fix the glasses on his nose, even when they were fine.

"Are those for reading?"

"Uh?" again the boy lifted his head to meet the man's look.

"The glasses"

"Ah!" his free hand run to fix the glasses on the nose "No, I'm kinda shortsighted"

Jack raised a brow "Earlier you weren't wearing them..."

"That's..." he averted his gaze for a moment "I know my house, also it's small so I'm fine without them for a bit" shrugged, returning to pay attention to the Echo and tapping something. "It's not like I forgot that they were on my head" mumbled, a light red flush appearing on his face.

Jack hummed, hiding an amused smirk with another spoonful of soup.

Alec then lifted a bit the Echo, squinted, frowned, then raised his arms completely moving the device over his head.

"Fuckin-"

"Language" mumbled Jack absentmindedly, continuing to eat even if the teenager shot him a questioning look before returning looking at the device. Then Alec moved his arms a bit on the side as if he was stretching and not working with the Echo.

A soft ping from the device pulled out a relieved sigh from the boy that lowered his arms.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Trying to reach out to one of my contacts" replied the kid tapping something on the Echo's on-screen keyboard. And as if the kid was sensing new questions incoming from Jack, he spoke again "They was mom's friend, they shared the medical office. I sold them her equipment after she... Well, after she was gone and I had to pay some debts." Alec sniffled "But they was nice enough to tell me that I could use it whenever I needed it and they also gives me a neat discount" he paused, lifting again the Echo and moving it around until it chimed with the sound signalling the successful message sent. "So, I'm trying to get my hands in something good enough to patch you up better... and to refill my medikits."

Jack left the spoon in the now-empty bowl and held it out to the kid. Alec attached the Echo to his joggers' waistband and took the bowl before getting up from the coffee table.

"You still haven't told me why you saved me," added Jack while the other walked in the kitchen "why you're so keen in healing me" continued "Not that I'm not grateful, but I'd like to know what's behind all this... interest"

He heard the kid put the bowl in the sink and run some water in it, then the boy walked back in the living room and sat again on the small table.

"Saying that you're just my type could work? Mh? That I thought it was a waste letting you die?" offered the boy, smirking and wiggling his eyebrows.

Okay. In a different situation, Jack would have laughed at that forwardness and liked it even if it came from a guy! Maybe he would have joked on it, maybe would have fired back an innuendo if he was with a woman. But, well, now it's weird. Alec is nineteen, he's pretty much a kid. Darn, Alec is only two years older than Angel!

Jack scowled. His brows knitted and a concerned look in his heterochromatic eyes.

"Kiddo," he said seriously.

Alec gulped and cleared nervously his throat, light red blushing appearing on his face up to the tips of his ears "Eh- I... guess that... ah- That didn't work to avoid the answer. Y'know, I thought that maybe... if I turned it that way you'd have accepted it? As in, dunno, a distraction." babbled the teenager, still blushing, while his right leg started to bounce revealing to the man another nervous tic.

"Just-" then the boy went still, took a deep breath, and sighed "Okay so, uh- for ransom money"

"Ransom money?" repeated Jack, crossing - as much as the wounds allowed - his arms on his chest.

The kid nodded and licked his own lips before talking again "I thought that if I could keep you alive, then I could ask your corp for money in exchange." he shrugged "Simple as that. And if you kicked the bucket, I could still be able to get some money looting your tech and selling it."

Jack would have to admit that as simple as it was, that was still a ballsy plan. Especially for a kid alone. He had some initiative and guts.

"Didn't you think that it could backfire? Like my soldiers arriving here following a tracking signal, breaking down the door, threatening you...? That kind of thing?"

"Uh, well... yes, but in almost two days I didn't see anyone. This place is calm enough but the signal is shitty as fuck, Echos can barely send messages or receive calls but nothing goes to the Echonet: no signal or access." explained the kid "and I didn't find anything that looked like a tracker." Alec bounced again the right leg "Also, I've been helping you so I guess that it could have worked in giving me some chances to not get offed... otherwise, well, at least I would have died trying." he lifted again his shoulders "It's not like I have anything to lose."

It was weird for Jack feeling more concerned by the kid's lack of self-preservation than the fact that since the Vault almost two days have passed.

_Your frigging life! That's what you have to lose, you idiot child!_

But those words did not leave Jack's mouth, only a sigh and a "You've got balls, kiddo"

The teenager smiled sheepishly. Then he turned to rummage in a medikit box and take out a pill bottle. He unscrewed the lid and took two simple white pills from it that then held out to Jack.

He looked at them and then at the kid.

"Painkillers. For the arm and the other stuff, they'll make you feel a bit better."

Jack lifted his right hand, palm up open, the kid left the two painkillers on it and after leaving the closed pill bottle on the low table, he took the glass of water that was still on it and offered it to the man. Jack gulped the pills and then chased them down with the water that was offered.

Alec had just taken back the empty glass when his Echo chimed with urgent tones.

"That's my alarm" stated the kid to avoid questions about it, right hand turning off the alarm, and he got up "I have to go get ready and go to work. I'll leave you a bottle of water where you can reach it and... dunno, sleep a bit while I'm away."

Then, Alec stormed away towards another room that Jack - from his position on the battered sofa - couldn't see.

"Work?" he asked, instinctively his eyes darted towards the small window in the room. It was dark, but there was nothing around that could have helped him understand how late it was. "Looks kinda late for that, kiddo".

"I work night shifts" Alec's reply came a bit muffled from the other room, probably he was in his bedroom? "I found you while taking the long route back from work" added the kid.

Jack tried to lift his body a bit more to try looking from over the back of the couch to try to identify where the boy was, but something soft was whacked on his face and made him slump back on the cushions and pillows with a muffled grunt. He grabbed the soft thing and removed from his face and looked at it: it was a soft fleece blanket, blue with colourful cartoony planets on it, that probably used to have brighter colours.

Jack lifted his gaze, seeing Alec now donning a pair of faded jeans, a light green t-shirt with on the front a print of a four-leaf clover - in a darker shade of green - with the words "Lucky's Last Chance Watering Hole" around it.

Alec stumbled while fretting to put on his old combat boots - that Jack recognized as the ones he saw when he was blacking out - and then moved to open a cabinet of the living room, taking out a shoulder holster. He wore it and then took a pistol - from the looks of it, an old Dahl model - and after a quick check with swift and skilled movements he holstered it. Then he grabbed a Dahl-branded shield and clipped it to his belt, near the Echo device.

"I'll be back around two am if there are no bar fights... or if I won't have to opt for the long way back" added the kid, grabbing a black denim button-down shirt and wearing it as a sort of jacket: the Pandoran days could be scorchingly hot, but at night there could be heavy temperature drops.

"And what I'm supposed to do? Stay here and wait?" grumbled Jack, keeping his gaze trained on the teenager that moved to the kitchen before walking towards the sofa where he was lying.

The kid left an opened bottle of water on the coffee table and then moved it so it would be within easy reach for the man's good arm.

"Yes?" offered the kid, raising an eyebrow "It's not like you're in conditions to wander around the house, and as I said there's no Echonet so no reason to leave you my spare Echo." said as matter-of-factly.

Alec then grabbed the fleece blanket and unfolded it to cover a bit the wounded man that kept staring at him.

"Be a good patient and rest, 'mkay?" chuckled the kid, patting Jack on the head.

"I'm not your patient" hissed him

"And I'm not your nurse" smiled Alec, before leaving Jack and moving towards the house's entrance. A quick check of the shield and Echo and then he was opening the door and getting out.

"Smell ya later, old man! Toodles~" a quick two-finger salute and the kid left, locking the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alec's failed-flirty-and-very-cringey reply was brought to you thanks to my music player's shuffle mode that slapped me with "My Type" by Saint Motel while I was writing LOL ~~I'm an idiot, I know~~


	3. Last Chance... Of Success

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes things don't go as planned, and Alec is going to discover that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, another fast update! I surprised myself!
> 
> English is not my language, so I may have messed up the accents I tried to add to the characters in the pub... I'm sorry :(

Alec was tense and nervous. _Really fucking nervous_.

He tightened the grip on the steering wheel of his old off-road truck and took a deep breath to calm down.

_Everything is going well. This is my great chance, and I can't let it escape._

He moved his right hand to push the button to power up the car's stereo, that soon started blasting one of the [tracks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9itwt_opsvQ) in the playlist, then he rested it back again on the steering wheel.

Finally, destiny has decided to give him a great opportunity in the form of that man. It was a rash and _very ballsy_ decision to rescue him, but the idea of being able to get money - and a lot of it - in exchange was too damn tempting to pass it.

Yeah, probably he shouldn't have let the man know his plan, but it's not like he has any means to tell it to anyone else or call for backup.

But everything was working out. This plan maybe was too plain and simple, but it was working. Nothing bad had happened, no one entered his house kicking down the door, no one tried to contact him or...

_Mh... sounds kinda weird, tho._

Alec shook his head, trying to chase away that negative thought. He had to keep focused until the end.

Everything will go as planned and he was sure of that. He'll be soon filthy rich thanks to the ransom money and would finally be able to free himself from spending the rest of his life on that scorched rock of a planet.

He'll be free, will go away and will still be rich enough to do whatever he wants. If the destiny said that for him was time to go big or go home...

"Then let's fucking go big!" exclaimed Alec while driving. He put his left arm out the car window and slapped a couple of times the door while letting out a couple of "whoop!" to let out the tension bottled inside him.

He was around midway to Last Chance when his Echo chimed with the incoming call tunes. Alec lowered the volume of the [stereo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm8xIo_2Aok) and grabbed his Echo to glance at the caller id. He pressed a couple of buttons, activating the holo-projector and accepting the call before leaving the device on the dashboard of the truck.

"Doc" chimed the kid "I tried to message you earlier"

The Echo projector gave a grainy effect and a blueish hue to the video, but the appearances of the doctor were unmistakable anyway: nose and lower part of the face covered by a white surgical mask, a scar near the left cheekbone, the right side of their face hidden by blood-red bangs, a checkered button-down peeking from under a white-ish labcoat.

"Hi to you too, Al" replied Doc "Going to work?"

"Yup" a glance towards the Echo, before returning to look at the road "But I was going to call before shift" added.

"Then I spared you the trouble" chuckled the other, "You wrote that you need to restock your medikits..."

"That's right, and I also need a couple of Anshins... the stronger ones. And at least one of those for bones and one for tissues. Oh! And throw in a bottle of heavy-duty painkillers"

The doctor in the video call lifted his eyebrows or at least the only visible one "Mh...that's quite the request" mused, a gloved hand resting on the masked chin "May I ask why you need those specific things?"

Alec kept his gaze on the road, dry-swallowing and trying to come up with a valid answer. He couldn't say that he's hiding a war criminal and dictator that is also the president of Hyperion because he plans to ask for a ransom.

"I... got a gig." said, before being silent for too long "A friend's friend hooked me up with some bounty hunting crap, and I want to try it out. Never done it before so I'd like to be ready for anything." concluded with a shrug.

The medic remained silent for a bit, and after another glance to the video, Alec thought that probably the other was weighing that reply.

"And in how much time you need everything?" asked the doctor after the silence.

"The sooner, the better. If possible."

"Mh... It's a bit late right now, so let's see..." the other went silent for few moments, probably busy checking something "I guess that I could get your request ready in one or two days: I still have something in stock."

"Thanks, Doc! You're the best!" Alec smiled towards the video

"Yeah, yeah" chuckled Doc "You're lucky that you're Sam's kid... and that I'm in a good mood, otherwise I'll have charged some extras!"

"Good mood? Something good happened?"

Doc hummed "Hmm... let's say that it's something like that, yes."

A vague reply from the medic was quite the norm, so Alec didn't question it. Also because the last time he asked the other some more, he received an answer that still hasn't forget after ages: Doc could be scary sometimes.

"Sounds nice! Ping me when I can grab the stuff"

"Will do, good night Al" and the red-haired doctor closed the videocall.

* * *

Last Chance was a settlement that grew around and took its name from Lucky Zaford's inn "Last Chance Watering Hole". It wasn't big as a town, probably even smaller than a village, but it worked and had the basic things: a couple of shops, a handful of houses, a mechanic shop near the catch-a-ride (that they hacked: it had something to do with some clan feud in which the owner of the system may or may not have meddled in it, Alec didn't really pay attention when Lucky told him the story), a small medical office owned by Hank - a Pandoran sawbones - with outside the usual Dr Zed's vending machine.

And there was a party going in the settlement. Even if in that period there weren't any festive days or anything to celebrate. _Weird_.

A confused expression appeared on Alec's face while he drove down the road to reach the clearing used as a parking lot for the inn. He switched off the engine of the truck and climbed out closing the door behind him before walking towards the main door of Lucky's inn.

The Watering Hole was more crowded than usual, even more than the times when some raiding party decided to stop for a drink or two. Everyone was drinking, hollering, partying. With decorations, lights and everything as if it was already Mercenary Day.

"Oh! Yer here boyo!" a gravelly voice and a bit too heavy slap on his back brought back Alec from his just standing there looking a bit bewildered...and almost sent him stumbling on the wooden floor.

"Donnie!" greeted the boy, turning - and lifting - his head to meet the gaze of the man that now was keeping his muscly arm around his shoulders.

Donnie was a tall hulking man, built like a brick house of dark tanned muscles and scars, a long black beard with grey streaks and a shaved head. He used to be a fighter in one of those underground arenas but stopped after the Underdome was destroyed and moved to act as a bouncer (and sometimes also barman) for Lucky Zaford.

"Yer just in time to not miss the party! Even if your shift starts in five, I'll let you have a drink too." continued the man, smiling and giving another pat on Alec's shoulder.

"I didn't know about the party" confessed the boy, letting the bouncer guide him through the crowd to reach the access to the back of the bar's counter. "What's for?"

"You don't know?" inquired Ol' Frank, one of the regulars - a hick old as fuck -, perched from his usual stool and drinking his usual pint of root beer "It's Liberation Day... well, the second day of it."

"Liberation Day?" repeated Alec, looking in Donnie's direction in search of an answer to all of that. "What did I miss during my free day?" added, letting out a small chuckle.

The man handed him an uncapped bottle of beer "You really don't know? It was all over the Echonet" he arched a bushy eyebrow.

Alec shook his head and brought the bottle to his lips to get a sip of the lukewarm beer "Ya know that I need to fix that crap of repeater, and I can't do much with the scavenged junk that's 'round here"

"Oh, right!" Donnie shook his head and brought his free hand to his forehead in a little facepalm "I forgot that yer house has no Echo signal!" he continued "Handsome Jack is dead: the Vault Hunters killed him"

"And Liberation Day is to celebrate that eejit kickin' off!" added Ol' Frank, lifting his half-empty pint in a toast and downing two big gulps of root beer.

Alec felt like someone just had replaced his blood with ice. Cold sweat already starting to prickle on the back of his neck, waves of anxiety getting closer.

"Really?" he hoped that the others didn't hear the slight crack in his voice, but luckily the place was noisy enough to cover it.

Donnie nodded, removing his arm from around Alec's shoulders to bring his Echo from the shelf under the counter and tapped something quickly on it before turning the screen towards the boy.

"Look, one of 'em posted some photos as a proof"

Alec took another sip of the beer and with the free hand grabbed the bouncer's Echo device and scrolled through the posts and the pictures that popped up after the man's search in the browser. He tapped on the icon of a post with a photo gallery to see with his own eyes what they were talking about.

His breath hitched when he saw the figure of the man.

He saw Jack in a puddle of blood on a rocky place in what looked like the inside of a volcano or some kind of cave with pools of boiling lava. The following picture the man was held by his hair by someone - looked like the arm of a man - and he was definitely dead. A big hole in the chest, probably caused by a shotgun, and a smaller one - probably from a pistol - in the middle of his forehead. His bloodied masked face was contorted in an unsettling snarl even in death.

Alec took another sip of beer, trying to maintain an appearance of calmness. He swiped to the next photo. They took away the mask, uncovering an ugly and gnarly scar that crossed his face in a sort of upside-down "V" shape that blinded the left eye. The symbol of the vaults. That scar had a weird discolouration, but Alec didn't look further and swiped to the last photo. One of the Vault Hunters, that eerily looked like a badass psycho, was holding the severed head of Handsome Jack.

The kid paled visibly, hands trembling slightly while he gave back the Echo to Donnie and downed a big sip of beer.

"You okay, boyo?" asked the bouncer "Yer getting kinda pale"

"Yeah, I'm fine" nodded Alec "I... uh, I thought that I have seen enough dead people... but looks like I can't stomach beheadings." laughed dryly before taking another sip from his beer bottle.

"Ahahah! I feel ya, boyo! It's kinda gross to see." laughed the hulking man, ruffling the kid's already messy hair "But there's worse"

"Well, yes I gue-"

"Like Nick for example" continued the bouncer "Other than losing his dinner seeing that photo, he lost a five hundred: he bet with me that the arsehole would've been backstabbed by his vice-president before reaching the Vault!" laughed Donnie

"Oh, man, what a loser!" laughed Alec "He'll never get over losing a bet!"

"Better him than me" shrugged the bouncer, putting away the Echo under the counter.

The sound of bottles breaking and chairs crashing grabbed the attention of both Donnie and Alec.

"Looks like I got some work" and with a pat on Alec's shoulder, the hulking man left the bar and went to grab the two drunkards that were starting to fight in the middle of the crowded room and drag them outside of the pub.

Alec moved and threw in the bin the empty bottle of beer, before putting on his apron, grabbing an empty tray and walk towards one of the tables to clear it from the empty glasses and bottles.

Many thoughts were crowding Alec's mind.

That man couldn't be the real Handsome Jack. It was impossible. The legit one was injured and sleeping on the sofa back in his house. The photos must be fake... right? _Right?_

But that would explain why in these two days no one has tried to find him. It's absurd that a president of a company could be able to get off the grid so easily, he must have had always some kind of tracker or something similar working as surveillance.

_If they think that he's dead, I won't be believed when I'll contact them asking for a ransom. Fuck! Fuck, shit, fuc-_

He put the glasses in the cluttered sink behind the counter and took a deep breath trying to calm down and block his train of thoughts: it was not time to let anxiety and panic take over his body.

He'll deal with everything when his shift will be over and when he'll be back home. Now it was time to work and earn his pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, Lucky Zaford is still alive and kickin'! I thought that the Vault Hunters would have been too busy stopping Jack's plans to "waste" time with a feud between two Pandoran families... so at the moment there are only Ellie and Scooter having fun stirring a bit the waters between Hodunks and Zafords but still nothing major.  
> And I also added a settlement around Lucky's establishment because... well, it felt right having a sort of village in there~
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> I hope to be able to keep updating this fast, but probably I'll start slowing down.


	4. Guns, Scars & Dorkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec snaps, and almost lose his shit. But then he gets it back together on time and returns to his usual dork self.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a rollercoaster...and even writing it was like being on a rollercoaster without knowing how the ride would end. But I was able to finally finish it!  
> I'm not really fond of the last parts, but not enough to justify cutting them away so duh I left 'em...but I had no other idea to how to write this, so I decided that it was better posting it instead of letting it sit in my folder.

As the kid said, Jack was in no condition to walk around and still weak and bedridden - or, more correctly, couch-ridden - as he was, he couldn't do much.

At first, he looked around what he was able to see of the room from his position: the wall in front of the sofa was partially covered by an old wooden cupboard and shelves, on the central part of the cabinet there was an old tv and a videogame console, various random books and knick-knacks on the shelves. There was a floor lamp with a dimmer, the only thing currently lighting the room, the sofa he was lying on, the battered coffee table and...well, there was nothing else that he was able to see from there other than the entrance door and the small window near it.

No clocks or anything that could help him understand how much time had passed. Either that kid relied only on the Echo's clock or he had some weird way to keep track of time.

It was kind of weird being there. It was kind of weird that a kid was able to keep _THE_ Handsome Jack stuck in there like a sickly prisoner to sell off when the opportunity arose.

A thing like that never happened to him. Never. Probably it was also thanks to making his body-doubles go to places and letting them risk assassination attempts and kidnappings and such in his place. Common risks when you're a famous billionaire CEO and such an awesome person that others started to hate you for your...brilliancy? Brillian-... for your friggin' awesomeness. Let's leave the five-dollars words to Timmers.

Anyway, this was neither of the two. It wasn't an assassination attempt and probably it wasn't either a kidnapping since he was found when he was out cold. Probably hostage? Whatever.

Still, it was weird.

But in his current conditions, it's not like he could do something about it other than asking questions to the boy. And that kid was bold and sure of himself enough to not care about telling him his plans. That, or he was an idiot disguised as a teenager.

_Either way, it will be kinda sad having to kill him when I'll be back on my feet. He saved my precious life and he's only a kid..._

Jack did not know after how much time he dozed off and fell asleep, nor how much time had passed when the sound of a door slamming shut startled him awake.

He groggily opened his mismatched eyes and pointed his gaze toward the entrance, noticing Alec slumping and leaning his back on the closed door. Denim button-down in a hand, green t-shirt almost dripping wet and damp hair pushed back. Jack scrunched a little his nose when he smelled the strong scent of alcohol coming from the kid.

"Did you really went to work? Or you went to one of those rave parties you bandits throw?" Jack himself was surprised by his own tone. What was supposed to be mocking, sounded more like the tone of a parent catching his son sneaking off in secret.

"Work" muttered the kid, throwing the denim shirt on a chair near the window.

"And that involves getting drenched in...what? Cheap booze?" he snarked.

The kid sighed, pushing his fingers under the glasses to rub at his eyes "There was a party" added the boy "a fucktard thought that it would've been a great idea to shoot at a beer barrel. Fun fact: it wasn't. I had to stay two extra hours to help cleaning all the shit."

Alec before leaving said that usually returned home from his shift at two in the morning, so if he had to stay two more hours... then it was four in the morning, or around that hour. Jeez, that meant he slept more than in the last months. The time he was blacked out by the blood loss doesn't count, obviously.

"Party?" inquired Jack "For what? One of those bandits finally learnt how to spell their frigging name?" chuckled.

"For you-"

"Me? I'm honoured but Jackentine's day is still far aw-"

"For _your death_." Alec interrupted him

Jack blinked a couple of times, looking at the boy moving some steps towards the sofa. His death?

"Handsome Jack is dead and everyone is partying" continued the kid, tone flat.

_Sheesh, that double got killed. Great idea switching with him, yep._

Jack lifted his gaze when he noticed that the boy reached the couch and was standing near him. It was almost... ominous.

"I saw the photos on the Echonet" the boy added, "Take off your mask, Jack... or whoever you are."

"I am Handsome Jack. The one and only." Jack sneered "And I already told you that the mask is off-limits"

"Are you hiding something, by chance?" the teen tilted his head questioningly. Okay, now it felt ominous.

"I'm not."

"Then take it off and show me your face" deadpanned the kid.

"Beer got in your freaking ears? What did you not understand of 'the mask stays on my face'?"

Then, everything happened too fast for his tired and still-high-on-painkillers brain to catch up and react on time.

Alec had planted his right knee on Jack's stomach - not enough to reopen his wounds but enough to make them hurt -, his right hand held the Dahl pistol now pressed on his throat, the left was grabbing his matted hair.

Jack gasped for the waves of pain caused by the other's knee, and he moved his right arm - the only working - towards the kid, closing the hand around his neck.

"Remove it. Show me your face." hissed the kid "Show me that you're the real Handsome Jack! Prove to me that the unmasked and beheaded fucker I saw was a fake!" Alec pressed a bit more the tip of the gun's barrel on Jack's neck and in response, he tightened his grip on the neck.

_Beheaded? Damn, those Vault Hunters are big freaks other than bloody monsters._

"I don't have to prove to you anything" growled Jack, keeping his grip around the kid's throat.

Alec's thumb slid on the safety lock, removing it "You owe me your life." he stated "You are alive thanks to me. I went all my way to patch you up and nurse you. And you're costing me a fuckton, asshole." Alec seemed to not care about the hand around his neck.

Jack snarled and used more force, squeezing the kid's throat a bit more to threaten back the other.

Alec's breath hitched but he did not look scared. Only more determined. And probably also angrier.

"I could put a bullet in your throat and get over it" his voice croaked a bit because of the grip around his neck "Don't make me do it."

Jack wasn't able to understand what emotion was feeling. It couldn't be fear - Handsome Jack doesn't get scared, only losers get scared - probably worry? Yeah, let's go with worry. He was worried about his life.

For a fleeting moment, he wondered if what he was feeling was similar to what Timothy felt all those times when he was the one threatened. In particular, those times when it was Jack himself keeping him at gunpoint or - like now with Alec - by the throat.

"So? The skag got your tongue?" the kid's voice snapped Jack from his thoughts.

Jack mulled it over for some more moments, before letting out a deep sigh.

"Fine." grumbled, lifting his grip from the kid's neck and moving the hand to start unlatching the clasps.

"Attaboy, good choice." smirked the kid, turning on the safety lock on the pistol and lifting his grip on Jack's hair to give the man a light pat on the shoulder.

Alec stood in silence, gaze trained on the man he was threatening at gunpoint. He watched him opening the clasps of the mask and then remove it carefully, keeping it in his hand when he lowered the arm on his chest.

"Happy now, kiddo?" he asked.

Alec let out a breath he did not know he was holding. His eyes behind the glasses widened a little while they were studying the face that was hidden under the mask.

There was some dried blood and dirt, as expected since the man earlier refused to remove the mask for cleaning it, the skin around the clasps and near the margins of the mask showed signs of irritation... but the eye-catching part was the big scarring going across his face. A sort of upside-down "V" that started from the right cheek and continued upwards to the forehead, closely running near the right eye, then arched back down to the left cheek passing through the left eye that was milk-white, surely blinded by whatever caused the scar. The scarred skin was in an unsettling shade of blue, while the borders were an angry red and puffy for the prolonged use of the mask and because of the grime that got stuck between skin and mask.

"Holy fucking shit" exhaled Alec

"Language" mumbled Jack absentmindedly

"Shut up, you're not my father" he rebuked. Then he stalled for a moment, licked his lips, trying to keep his stance and to keep his thoughts in order.

Then he said "The scar is different"

"What?" the man arched an eyebrow

"The... Jack they killed. The scar was less... uh- bad and less blue"

"That's because mine is the frigging original one" stated the man "Can't get the same result with the branding but-"

Alec instinctively pressed again the tip of the barrel on the man's neck, interrupting him.

"Branded? Like... like fucking cattle?" that was absurd and "Fucking sick"

"Yeah, I know!" the man smiled "Also, that guy was freaky enough to try matching the colour tattooing his brand and-"

"It wasn't a compliment, you sick fuck!" hissed Alec "Why the fuck one would brand someone?!"

"He was a bloody body double!" barked Jack "Body doubles have to match, y'know? If they don't match they aren't frigging doubles!"

Alec removed the safe from the gun, he was trying hard to keep all the emotions at bay even if his hand was starting to slightly tremble. His jaw clenched nervously. He had to keep focused.

"Then, that fucker they beheaded is... was a body double of yours?"

"Exactly"

"He still looked like you after being killed, so no cloaking device? To look like you?" gears were moving in Alec's mind

"He was one of the few surgically altered ones, he didn't need that"

Alec pondered a moment before asking "How many there are of those?"

"Not many, they are expensive as heck to make"

"How. Many." insisted Alec, finger moving slowly on the trigger. He felt under the gun's barrel the bobbing of the man's Adam's apple when he dry-swallowed.

"There was one in Opportunity, he's dead." started Jack "Then the one killed in the Vault, and..." he trailed off.

"And?"

"And one that I don't know if he's alive or not, but he was off-planet doing some jobs for me." the man paused for a moment, then tried to move a bit his shoulders in a shrug "Knowing him, he may have gone off the grid as soon as he got the news that I'm dead."

Alec hummed, lips pressed in a thin line.

So, he was right. The Jack in the photos was a fake. A surgically-altered double and the one he was keeping hidden in his house was the real one. That man could still be his one-way ticket to get away from there. He simply had to think of a better plan to reach his goal.

"Three surgically altered and the others used cloaking devices, then?"

"Correct"

"How many of them?"

"Soon, none. In case of my death, the doppelganger program would get shut down and all the living doubles eliminated."

Alec grimaced. He honestly had to remember himself why he's keeping that man alive, why he didn't let him die, why he still has not shot him.

He needed a few instants more, then Alec put back the safety on the gun and lifted it from the man's neck.

The man let out a sigh, probably - no, surely - of relief.

"Okay real-Jack," said Alec moving his knee away from the man's stomach "we'll be together for a while, so let's try to get along"

"You're the one that pulled a gun on me, kiddo" snarked Jack.

"Says Mr CEO McMurder" chuckled Alec, putting back the pistol in the shoulder holster that he was still wearing. Then he ran a hand in his hair still damp of the beer from the exploded barrel. "Fuck, I need a drink"

"Language, kiddo"

Alec turned his eyes again on the man "You are fine with branding and killing people, but you have problems with swear words?"

"They aren't classy." he shrugged "And kids shouldn't swear."

The boy exaggeratedly rolled his eyes moving towards the cupboard.

"Golly, sir!" he exclaimed opening the cabinet door "I am in dire need of some refreshment, preferably a beverage with a relevant alcoholic percentage" continued, in the poshest accent he could mimic without starting to laugh. Then grabbed a bottle containing a clear, light greenish-blue liquor, full for less than two-thirds, and that had a handmade label with scribbled on it "Don's Shine".

He was unscrewing the metal cap when he heard the man on the sofa forcing himself to not laugh. "Shit, kiddo" complained Jack, stifling a laugh "Don't make me laugh: everything hurts if I do"

Alec turned towards him and started cackling, amused.

"Make you laugh?" continued Alec "My good sir, you wound me!" hand holding the bottlecap going to rest on the chest in a mock hurt gesture "I offer you hospitality in my humble abode, and you reward my kind heart by making a fool out of- hahahaha!" but he wasn't able to hold his laughter anymore "I'm- hahaha- I'm too sober for this!" chuckled.

Jack already started laughing too, joining the boy.

The tension and electricity that was in the room lifted, the atmosphere felt lighter. It was as if what happened just a few moments before did not occur really.

Alec struggled a bit at calming his laugh but in the end, he was able to get back the reigns.

"Oh my f-" he caught himself on time "frigging god" sighed, putting the bottlecap on the cabinet's shelf and moving his hand to grab a shot glass on the lower shelf.

And then he put it back muttering a "Glasses are for the weak" and lifting the bottle to his lips to take a couple of sips of the greenish liquor.

He squeezed his eyes, a light grimace appearing on his face in reaction to the burning sensation of the alcoholic sliding down his throat and the weird taste of the liquor. He somewhat liked it, but the first gulp always disgusted him. It tasted slightly sweet, a bit like mint but not like real mint but more like some weird artificial flavour. Even, though, that was made with some Pandoran herbs and there wasn't anything artificial in it.

A small disgusted sound escaped Alec's lips when he lowered the bottle and closed it before putting it back away on the cupboard's shelf.

"So brightly coloured, what's that?" asked Jack, apparently curious.

"This is Donnie's moonshine" answered Alec, closing the cabinet door "his uh- reinterpretation of Lucky's 'shamrock' that would have been bright green and tasted like... probably like battery acid?" snickered. Alec drank one glass shot of the original recipe only once and for a full day, he wasn't able to taste any other flavour. _Terrible_.

"And that one doesn't?" continued Jack, snickering "You kinda made a face..."

"Well, duh! You would have made a face too if you drank something that tasted like alcoholic mouthwash!" explained Alec "It's that kind of disgusting that becomes kinda good after a bit."

Alec looked at Jack staring at him in silence for some moments, then the other huffed a small laugh and flopped back on the pillows.

"I have to admit that I can understand that," the man said, "I tried out many things and surely a bunch of them were of that kind."

"Don't flex on me, old man" snorted Alec, crossing his arms and walking back towards the sofa were Handsome Jack was.

He raised a brow "Flex...what? I'm not doing tha-"

"Puh-lease! You were flexing on your 'sex drugs and rock'n'roll' kind of life... where 'rock'n'roll' meant 'blood'n'slaughter', of course." teased with a smirk.

"Maybe" snorted Jack. He then grabbed his mask, that he previously left on his chest, and was going to put it back when Alec grabbed lightly his arm.

"Wait," said the kid "Your scar needs some cleaning and breathing, it's already red and puffy... it could turn into an infection if left like that."

The man seemed to hesitate for a moment, but gave in "Alright, kiddo."

Alec smiled softly and took the mask from the man's hand, setting it aside on the coffee table where then he sat, grabbing one of the medikit boxes and grabbing what was needed to start cleaning and medicating Jack's scar.

* * *

"Stop wincing" complained the kid, struggling to put some antibacterial cream on the man's scar after having cleaned and tended to it.

"I'm not doing it in purpose, kid: it stings" whined Jack

"I know, just stay still so I'll be done soon" rebuked the boy "Don't be a child"

Jack rolled his eyes, letting out a huff from his nose "...'m not a child" muttered, but anyway this time he tried harder to not move when he felt that stinging sensation.

That kid, Alec, was... something. In a span of a few hours, Jack was able to see a bunch of his sides: a kinda funny and dorky teenager, but still capable to be menacing and threatening if needed and also had potential to become a proper adult, with a little caring twist. Surely the menacing part was thanks to living on Pandora between all those bandit scums. The caring? Probably he had a somewhat normal childhood before remaining alone? If something like that was achievable on that dumpster of a planet, of course. Alec was interesting for sure.

"Whatcha thinking?" asked the kid, bringing back the man from his thoughts.

"That you stink" quipped Jack with an amused smirk.

"Gee, thanks, I know" Alec closed the tube of cream "But you stink too".

"That's a lie: Handsome Jack smells always good," he stated

"You stink of blood, sweat and antibacterial"

"And that's very sexy of me" chuckled Jack "Except the antibacterial part"

The teenager did one of his exaggerated eye-rolls, but also stifled a little laugh while putting away the stuff used to clean and medicate the scar.

"I guess that both of us would improve with a shower" commented the kid that then pinched the green t-shirt, still wet with beer, that was drying on him "Ew! I'm completely sticky!"

"That's what she said!" Jack laughed, not resisting the temptation of an awful joke.

"Oh, fuck you!" laughed Alec, throwing him a roll of gauze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want, you can ignore the very last part, the one under the line break: it was from a previous writing but to me was funny and I wanted to keep it lol.  
> And "Don's Shine" is heavily inspired by that alcoholic mouthwash that is absinthe: to me, it tastes so weird that does the 180 and becomes good.


	5. All Bark And Some Bite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn that the main personality traits for Alec and Jack are "fuck around and find out" and "catch these hands".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We also learn that my summaries can be shit and that I'm not good with descriptions and most of the time I get around them by making a character observe things. But - hey - it's still something, right? And also another fast update! _Yay for me!_  
>  ~~Also as I stated previously, English is not my language so I kinda have a limited vocabulary and writing skills.~~

Jack honestly did not know how he should feel... if he should feel something at all. Surely he was feeling something akin to awkwardness, caused by the being fussed over by a teenager that has helped him take a shower and change the bandages. That was a big blow to his dignity.

The new hypo in his body helped him in getting able to stand on his feet and walk, but he was still down an arm, the big gash on the side was stitched up and had other wounds that were - yes - dressed but needed carefulness anyway.

He was completely out of his environment. And sure as heck, Jack himself realized that was a rare thing for him to simply keep quiet for this long. Probably because the occasions in which he found himself feeling uneasy were so rare that they could be counted on the fingers of one hand. And probably you'd still have fingers to spare.

Apparently, every moment spent with Alec was going to be some kind of novelty for Jack.

The man stood still while the other was busy finishing with the bandage change. He took advantage of Alec's distraction to eye him from head to toes, not in some weird manner - he wasn't that kind of man - but to simply study the other. To learn something about him.

Alec had taken a shower by himself before helping Jack and currently was still half-dressed. Tracksuit pants in a faded standard Dahl-green that had been cut roughly a bit past the knees (and that were rolled two times at the waistband because they were a bit too big), the same old canvas shoes he saw him wearing back when he woke up... looking better, and adding a bit of imagination, probably once upon a time they used to be blue...ish. He was shirtless and a patched up lilac towel was hanging on his shoulders, light brown hair looking even more like a bird-nest after being towel-dried quickly.

He didn't look too thin, probably had more or less the right weight for his height that was... Jack guessed that he was around one head shorter than him. Or something like that. The kid's eyes probably were at shoulder height for him. Alec was a shortie, then.

Jack saw that Alec's light skin was scattered with various scars, more numerous than the ones he was able to notice hours ago, but it was something you could expect from living in that trash planet. Or in the border planets in general. The ones that caught more Jack's eye were a bite-shaped scar on the right calf - probably caused by the local fauna -, long thin scars from the left shoulder to the elbow (again some wild animal? they looked like claw marks), a horizontal scar that went from the outer corner of the left eye and disappeared in the hairline, and lastly - but not least - two matching scars on his chest just under the pectorals.

There was little hair on the guy, only on arms, legs and a little trail that started from the navel and went down. Compared to him, Jack could've been considered quite hairy.

Jack never cared about being caught staring, but this time he was glad that the other didn't notice. It could have made the situation even weirder. And he was already feeling too uneasy for his likings.

Mismatched eyes that moved away, distractedly looking around the plain and kinda bare bathroom...even if there wasn't much to look at. That's why he ended up sizing up Alec: he was the only interesting thing in that room. Surely more interesting than looking at the geometric pattern on the shower curtain or at the black mould that was in a corner of the bathroom's ceiling.

Jack put his right hand inside the pocket of the grey gym trunks that he was wearing and patiently waited that the youngster finished changing the bandages around his torso.

Alec was humming to himself something that sounded like a cheery pop song about a pink lemonade while keeping focused on his work. It was a weird moment, almost domestic if you ignore the fact that the boy earlier kept him at gunpoint, and that Jack most probably was a hostage.

"Alec?"

"Hm?" hummed the youngster, eyes trained on the gauzes that he was covering carefully with the second layer of bandages. Tip of his tongue peeking from a corner of the mouth, in concentration.

"Prisoners should not receive all this care, y'know?" Jack said "You'd never let 'em have too much freedom or be in a good shape" he continued, honestly not knowing why he was giving tips on how to take prisoners. Probably because being treated more like one would help him shrugging off the uneasiness. He sniffed, "It's better keeping them restrained and beaten up, not too much but just the right amount."

Alec tied a small knot in the bandages and moved his attention to the man "I'm a first-timer, old man" smirked the boy "But I'll keep your bits of advice in mind..." then he took one step back, crossed his arms and squinted a little "Or you're telling me that Mister McMurder is secretly a masochist?"

Jack blinked and arched his eyebrows "What?! No, I'm completely the opposite!" he assured "And I'm saying that you should make 'em learn who's the one in charge. Who's in control and has the power and-" but Alec's reaction made him trail off.

Alec was snickering, a hand covering his mouth, shoulders trembling and eyes squinting again while he tried to not start laughing.

Tried. Because after a little snort, the boy burst into a laugh under Jack's puzzled expression.

"S-sorry! But- hahaha" he tried to say "But it - hahaha" he slapped his hand on his mouth, probably in the hopes to calm his laughing but that resulted into a stifled laugh. "It sounded that you were" a little snort interrupted the sentence "that you were doing some kind of BDSM talk, with the 'who's in charge' thing!"

Jack laughed too. Amused at first. Then Jack's laughter became darker.

He was laughing at him? Because it sounds like the kid was making fun of him. He was giving him some tips, he was being nice and compliant even after being threatened with a frigging gun, and forced to remove his mask and talk about his doubles. And the little shit laughs at him.

What the hell. How dare he.

Jack stopped laughing, his gaze had become harsh and menacing but the boy was too busy having fun.

"Do I need a safe-word too?" added Alec, snorting another little laugh.

Jack snapped. With a swift movement, he lunged towards the boy pushing and slamming him towards the near tiled wall causing the kid to let out a howl of pain. He pressed his right arm against the other's neck to keep him blocked and also cutting his intake of air.

Alec's eyes were wide in both shock and fear "What...the fuck, dude" gasped, hands moving to grip Jack's arm in an attempt to move it and loosen the pressure on his throat.

"Listen here, kiddo" snarled Jack "I don't know what you have in your frigging head, probably shit like every other bandit scum on Pandora" he continued, maintaining the arm pressed against Alec's neck "You should thank your good star 'cause I'm still in no condition to kill you the way I'd like to."

The boy was silent, staring at him wide-eyed, hands still gripped on the arm that was making breathing difficult.

Jack moved closer, caging Alec between him and the wall and using the difference in height and build to tower over him and assume a more intimidating stance. His weight used to keep the arm in place on the other's throat.

"Be _very damn_ careful, kiddo" he growled, his face inches from the boy's "With me there's no 'fuck around and find out': there's only 'fuck around and get killed'. Capisce?"

Alec gasped a little and he tried to reply with words, but he was only able to let out a little whimper. So, he slowly moved his head in a nod.

"Attaboy, you're learning." a pleased smirk appeared on Jack's scarred face.

Then the man moved his arm from the boy's throat and moved a few steps back.

Alec coughed, hands running to massage his throbbing neck, taking in big gulps of air.

Maybe he roughed him too much? After all, Alec was so young... and surely still hasn't learnt how the universe works.

_Naw, it's not like I hit him or anything. It was just a little squeeze and a threat, nothing serious._

It's better if they learn since young how things are. That there's no mercy, not even for kids, and that you'll need to fight your way into life. No one will sugar-coat anything for you or be nice if there's no gain. And if they do, then they are tricking you and you're a freaking moron for falling for it.

Alec recovered from the floor his towel, that fell when he was pushed against the wall, twisted it and smacked it full force against Jack's head with a loud _'thwap!'_.

"Fuckin' bastard!" barked the kid, readying again the towel "Do I have to fuckin' remind you" _thwap_ , this time hit the left hip "That if you're able to keep being a fuckin' jackass" _thwap_ , right thigh "'S thanks to _me_?"

The towel missed Jack's face, going too low and smacking against the man's right shoulder and accidentally opening to the other the possibility to snatch it.

Jack gripped the towel and half-wrapped it around his hand to have a better hold on it, then he gave it a strong pull. The boy didn't let go of his grip and was dragged again closer to the man.

"What I just told you?" growled Jack, tone less harsh but still a warning.

He stared down, looking at Alec's soft face slightly flushed, with lips curled in a snarl and eyes glaring daggers at him in a defiant stare.

The boy looked like a small dog baring his teeth and growling. Kinda cute.

"You should be thankful, old man" continued the youngster "That I'm treating you with gloves because you're injured and because you're valuable goods." hissed, pulling himself a bit closer to Jack and tilting his chin in an attempt to reduce their height difference, "Otherwise, you'd be on the floor, clutching your crotch and wailing 'argh! my balls! you kicked me in the balls!'"

Then the kid let go of the towel, gripped Jack's good arm with both hands and started walking pulling the man with him.

Jack stumbled in his first steps, having been taken off guard by the other: he almost forgot that the shortie was stronger than he looked. After all, Alec dragged him, collapsed and a dead-weight, into the truck and then in his house to patch him up.

He let the other drag him in another room, this time a bedroom. It was on the small side but, well, everything was small compared to his turbomansion on Helios. The room was plain and a bit dusty: near the left wall there was a double bed, with two simple night-stands at the sides, a big chipped wardrobe against the wall in front of the bed, on the wall near the door there was an old dresser, and on the wall in front of it, there was a simple table with a chair on one end and a window with metal bars welded to the outside on the other.

The boy pulled him towards the bed "Sit." said, in a commanding tone. Alec didn't move his gaze from Jack until the man snatched back his arm and sat on the old mattress covered in plain sheets. Then the boy turned towards the dresser and opened a drawer rummaging in it.

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but something soft was thrown on his face. He grabbed it and moved it away to check what it was: a simple white t-shirt with a small "Dahl Mining" logo on the left side of the chest.

"Since you're an ungrateful bastard, I won't help you with it." stated the kid, before walking away from the room.

Jack grumbled, but remained there and - with more grumbling and some struggling - he was able to put on the shirt, with the broken arm as the only exception since a wave of pain made it difficult to manoeuvre properly the arm in the sleeve.

Probably he wasted more minutes than he thought because when he lifted his gaze Alec was already back in the room - glasses back on his nose and wearing a red t-shirt with a logo of probably some music band - leaving a bottle of water on the nearest nightstand.

"I don't have a basement and my storage room is full, so you're lucky: you'll be staying here," said Alec, coldly "Don't waste time rummaging around: there's nothing that could be used as a weapon." continued, leaving near the bottle of water a couple of nutribars "All the windows on this side of the house have alpha-skag-proof bars, so don't even try."

The boy then pointed at a small door that was on the wall, hidden from the entrance by the closet, "There's a small bathroom there if you need it."

Jack looked at it and then back at the boy that was walking back towards the bedroom door "So, you're going to lock me up here?"

"Yup" replied, popping the 'p', "I'm doing what you told me. Now deal with it, old man." snarked, uncaring of the glare Jack was sending him.

Alec then stopped on the room's doorway, took out something from his pocket and threw it on the bed "Catch this".

Jack arched a brow and grabbed the thing, noticing that it was the pill-bottle containing the painkillers "Leaving me the meds? Aren't you a bit too soft again?"

"Check better: you have only two pills. Use them wisely, I'll be back in... dunno, some hours I guess. Probably around lunchtime, if I don't forget it." he shrugged, closing the door behind him and locking it.

Jack threw the pill bottle against the door.

"Oh, before I forget" added the other from the outside "If when I get back I'll find something broken, I'll make sure that your left arm won't heal properly. Got it?"

Jack didn't reply. He simply stared at the door, as if he was trying to burn a hole in it with his gaze.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. See ya." then the man heard Alec walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kinda liking the "duality" of the interactions between Alec and Handsome Jack: they both go from chill to kill and back to chill in like 2 seconds and I find it kinda fitting lol  
> Aaand I guess that you already understood that at the start of the chapter I was listening to "Pink Lemonade" by James Bay lol


	6. The Sound Of Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The protagonists are faced now with the fact that both of them need to find a good plan to achieve their goals... and Jack doesn't like being trapped in a room with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this chapter feels like a filler because there isn't any action, but I felt that trying to write something like a sort of introspection - or however you want to call it - on Jack's side while he was stuck inside the room.  
> Surely he doesn't like being put into "timeout", even if he deserved it LOL

"Urrrgh!" grunted Alec, hands closing into fists, once he reached the living room.

He was annoyed. _Terribly annoyed_. That man was such an asshole that was able to make him snap.

He closed his eyes, inspired deeply, held the breath for a moment and counted back from 6 before breathing out. He needed to calm down, he needed to keep focused and try to come up with a new plan: after all the work to keep that man alive, he had to find a new way to use him to get something. Hell! Even a bounty reward would've been nice! But everyone believes that Jack is dead, so ransoms and bounties are not options.

Pushed his fingers under the glasses and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. It won't be a simple thing finding a new option... and obviously, it's not like that asshole will cooperate. Even in his current state, Jack showed that he'd be able to kill him or severely injure him at any given opportunity.

_Shit! Fuck!_

Alec started pacing restlessly in the livingroom. He had to get at least an idea on what to do, maybe also find a way to make the man collaborate with him. He must find a solution. There must be a way, anything, to fix the mess that he put himself in!

He turned on his feet and moved towards the messy coffee table, starting to put all the medicaments left around back in the boxes, throw away the old dirty gauzes and tidying up a bit to keep his mind focused on something else: it was not time to overthink.

Sharp pain in the neck was what startled awake Alec. He hissed when he moved his head, left hand running to massage the back of his neck. Blinked a couple of times, to chase away the remaining blurriness of the sleep and pushed himself in a sitting position feeling his back a bit sore. The hand on the neck moved to massage the opposite shoulder while the right hand fixed his glasses that were sitting crooked on his nose.

He had fallen asleep on the old sofa (in a weird position, judging by the soreness) when he sat on it after finishing tidying up the living room and the kitchen, without even noticing. He couldn't deny that he had been really tired, last time he slept was a cat nap of half an hour before changing Jack's bandages and checking his wounds, and then the man woke up. Then there's been work, with extra hours, the fights... Alec stared distractedly at the floor, deep in thought: before the nap, when it was the last time he slept? Probably before going to work the day he found Jack: after that, only quick naps. It's not like his insomnia would let him have a proper amount of sleeping hours, but anything is better than running always low on battery. Now in particular since with that douchebag, it's better to be always wide awake and with sharp reflexes. It's like having a wild skag ready to bite in any moment trapped in your house.

Alec clicked his tongue and rose to his feet, moving towards the kitchen to open the fridge and grab a can of a soft drink. Those weren't his favourites, he didn't even like them, but he needed something to drink and something that could give him some energies and those sugary things were ideal. He snatched a cocoa-flavoured nutribar from the cupboard and opened it, taking a couple of bites before a new sip of the sweet soda. Then Alec moved back to the living room and sat back on the sofa.

He left the soda can on the coffee table and grabbed his Echo, looking at the screen: `[8 A.M. - Night Cycle - No Signal Found]`. So he slept for a couple of hours, give or take. The Echo was clipped to his pants' waistband and his free hand moved to grab back the soft drink, lifting it to his lips and drinking the remaining soda in it. Then he chased away the sickeningly sweet flavour lingering in his mouth with the nutribar. Then he left the empty can and wrapper on the coffee table.

What should he do now? Alec did not know. He needed a new plan, sure, but it's not like he's any good with that: the plan of using Jack for ransom money was a shitty thing he thought when he recognized the injured man bleeding on the ground, near an old and forgotten fast-travel station. Only some of the locals used that, mostly preferring driving or - if there was no other choice - use the one that was near Lucky's establishment. For a moment, he wondered how the man ended up fast-travelling there. Probably typing the wrong coordinates on the panel.

Alec backtracked in his thoughts and returned to the main focus: he needed to think something new. And something that could work.

His right leg was bouncing nervously while he was trying to come up with something. Surely, Alec couldn't ask for help from anyone or he'd have to reveal that Jack is still alive and... well it wouldn't end well.

_Maybe I could ask Doc? Nah, scratch that. With them, it could go even worse._

Alec sighed, lifting his glasses on the top of his head and rubbed his face with both hands. He shouldn't have been impulsive. He should have looted the man and left him do die out there. But he didn't and now he has to deal with it.

Another sigh, then he lowered his hands and put the glasses back on his nose. He rose from the sofa and walked back on the small corridor that brings to the other rooms of the small house.

For a moment, he stopped in front of his parents' bedroom door. Where he locked the man. Alec chewed his bottom lip, pondering if to go check on the man... then he remembered what happened, and shrugged. He'll deal with that douchebag in another moment: it's better to leave him alone for some more time.

He walked away from the door and continued along the corridor for few metres before entering his own bedroom.

He opened the cracked door of his closet and grabbed a pair of dark jeans - he still had to wash the ones that got stained with beer -, his worn-out leather jacket and the backpack containing his hunting gear. Alec threw everything on his unmade bed and turned towards the wall behind his bed to get the sniper rifle hung on the wall.

"Time to go for a hunt, miss" he said, giving a gentle pat to the rifle.

* * *

Jack stared at the locked door for he doesn't know how much time. Almost as if he was expecting that the boy would soon have walked back saying his excuses and opening the door.

But that did not happen.

He sighed and rose from the bed to reach the door, right hand touching its surface. It's a simple wooden door, with the right force he could break it down or unhinge it. He mulled it over. He was down an arm, and even if the all the hypos that Alec injected in him helped a lot with his recovery, he knew that he'd need way more time to fully heal. His broken arm needed a lot of time and the gash on his side, even if it was surely better than when he passed out, was barely hanging on even with the Anshins in his body. If the stitches tore, then it surely would start bleeding again.

And even if he had enough luck to get out of the room without worsening his injuries, there was still the guy ready to stop him. Probably now he keeps always that gun on him, especially after that little stunt he did on him. Only a stupid would keep staying unarmed after being attacked.

To disarm him could be a problem. He would have to be quick and find a way to knock him out and get his weapon. But if he failed, the kid would shoot at him. He felt that Alec was the kind of guy that would have no problem shooting someone if it was necessary, and not a guy that pulls out a gun to threaten or show off. Typical for a Pandoran, probably.

Jack tsked. He did not like the situation he was in. But still, better than ending like that creepy moron of a double in the Vault of the Warrior.

But, probably, he could be able to take advantage of the situation. Let the kid do all the work and bring him back to health and then take him out. Maybe with a knife... or strangling, his hands were kinda itching for being put around someone's neck and squeeze away the other's life.

And seeing that light from their eyes vanishing... ah! he missed it.

The only "problem" with taking advantage of the situation would be being forced to be nice having to be - _urgh_ \- docile with Alec, to gain his trust.

Jack grunted, not pleased at all with the idea, and walked back to the bed. He climbed on it and laid down, right arm behind his head. Maybe he could try to sleep a bit more, it could help with healing. Yeah, probably resting some more time was a good idea.

When Jack opened back his eyes, for a brief moment he experienced a little wave of panic not recognizing the room he was in. Just an instant that ended when he fully awakened. He was in Alec's house, locked in that bedroom. He shifted in a sitting position, with a groan when his side sent a jolt of pain, and moved his legs to the side to put his feet on the floor.

His right hand that hovered mid-air when he remembered that he couldn't touch his face because the scar was badly irritated. He then moved the hand to grab the bottle of water from the nightstand. On it, there was nothing else other than the two nutribars the kid left and an old alarm-clock that marked that it was eight in the morning, still night cycle.

Jack put the bottle between his knees to keep it still while he unscrewed the cap - that he threw away - with his only working hand. He took a couple of big gulps of water, then he put the bottle back on the nightstand and grabbed one of the nutribars. Peanut butter flavoured. Not one of the best flavours, but it was one of the tolerable ones. He used his teeth to help himself opening the wrapper of the bar. Being down an arm was a real pain in the ass. He wondered how Timothy was able to get things done even when he was injured.

_Why the fuck I'm thinking about that coward right now?_

He angrily bit into the nutribar.

_I guess that now he'd be happy. I was declared dead and this means his contract with me ended, surely he had already jumped ship and went away to avoid the doubles' termination._

He finished eating the nutribar and dumped the wrapper on the floor.

Jack heard steps getting closer and stopping near the door. The kid was already there to free him?

The steps walked away, probably towards another room that was in the corridor. His room?

Jack closed his eyes and tried to focus on the noises, trying to identifying what Alec was doing. He heard...nothing much. Probably the room was not near the one he was in. The only things he heard were some muffled noises of rummaging or something thrown. Probably talking? Jack wasn't sure. A handful of minutes after, he heard Alec's steps treading back along the small corridor and away. A few other minutes later, he heard the sound of the entrance door slamming and an engine revving.

He was leaving him alone in the house?

Jack rose to his feet.

It could be the right opportunity to try opening the door and then get away from there. Maybe he could also be able to steal a weapon: he saw where the kid kept some of them. Not a great hiding spot, but probably it wasn't even a hiding spot. But he didn't know where the kid hid his stuff. He'd have to give up on his equip if he was able to leave the place.

And then, once out of the house... Jack had to admit that he did not know what to do. He did not know the Dahl Headlands. He knew that the area was somewhat not too far from New Haven and the Nexus where there were his Eridium plants... but that was not enough to find his way around. Not even enough to find the fast-travel station he accidentally used when escaping the Vault.

And the area was surely full of scum bandits ready to shoot him on sight, even if they believed he was already dead.

No, he couldn't get away on his own. He was injured. He did not have his army of Loaders backing him up, Nisha and Wilhelm are gone since months... he did not know where Timothy was, not that he had a way to contact him without his Echo.

And there was not even Angel watching over him, helping him find a way to get back on Helios and get back his rightful place.

Angel, she... she wasn't there anymore. His daughter. His baby girl.

His right hand pulled a bit at his hair. No, it's not time to think about her.

Jack started moving, his steps pacing back and forth in front of the wall with the room's door.

He felt like a caged animal. And wasn't liking where his mind was starting to drift.

Jack thought again about Timothy, his first doppelganger. How he used to close Tim in a small room and let him simmer in solitude and his thoughts because he dared to disappoint or disobey orders. Some times he left him there for days, to break him down so he could build him back better.

Jack was getting nervous after only a few hours. The doppelganger surely had more willpower than himself, he had to give that to him. That, or - more probably - Timmers tended to give up easily.

He felt the need to distract himself. Get back his mind from the spiral of thoughts that it was getting into.

Jack found himself stopping in front of the old dresser and noticed that there was a framed photo lying on its surface. He got closer and grabbed it to give it a look: it was a photo of a Dahl battalion, they were posing in the centre of a military camp but there wasn't written where it was taken. Probably was on the back? Jack wasn't interested enough to get it out the frame to check. He looked at the various soldier, at their faces. Probably one of the men was Alec's father... but the photo seemed quite old, most of the people there were on the younger side.

He put back the photo on the dresser and resumed his pacing, this time extending his path to walk near the wall with the closet and the door to the in-room bathroom.

He opened the small door and took a look in there. Small but clean, only the same amount of dust that there was in the rest of the bedroom. There was only a toilet, a sink with over it a small cabinet with a mirror and a small dresser probably to keep towels. The mirror, he noticed, was broken. He wondered why. The cabinet's door still worked and Jack opened it to see if there was anything in it. Nothing. It seemed like it was emptied of whatever was in there. Then his eye caught the sight of a toppled pill bottle on the top shelf of the cabinet. He took it and gave it a look: it was empty and the label was too faded to be readable. Jack put it back, closed the cabinet and walked out, back in the bedroom.

He walked towards the window, looking out. That side of the house was towards a nearby rock formation that seemed to have many nooks and crannies. The kid said something about the window's bars being skag-proof, probably there were some dens there?

Jack shrugged and resumed his walking, reaching the other side of the bed and looking at the second nightstand. On it, there was a circular light blue doily and nothing else, but looked like something on there was missing.

He had no interest in what he was looking at, no reason to study that room so in detail. But he didn't want to let his mind wander again and there was nothing else that could have kept his mind occupied, so snooping around was the only option available at the moment.

Jack sighed and turned towards the desk, pulling out the chair and sitting on it. The desk was empty and at this point, he didn't know if he should be surprised or not. With his right hand, he tried pulling the drawer of the desk and it opened.

His brows arched when he noticed that there was something in there. Grabbed the contents of the drawer and put them on the top of the table. One was a book - one of those old paperbacks that Timothy would've loved - well worn and with a ruined cover but opening to the first page he was able to read the title: "Jane Eire". He flipped some pages, trying to see if there was something between them but there was nothing. The book was quickly discarded and put back in the drawer.

The remaining things were a sheet of lilac paper that once opened revealed a colourful drawing made by a kid. Probably from Alec when he was small? He folded it back and set it aside. The other thing was another framed picture, standard-sized and not big like the battalion's group photo.

Maybe it was that the thing that he felt was missing from the nightstand? He glanced back to it and then to the frame that was still lying face down on the desk. He picked it up and looked at it: it was a photo of a little kid, with big brown eyes, light brown hair tied into pigtails, happily smiling with a gap-toothed grin. A girl, judging by the looks. The little girl in the photo should've been around six or seven and was hugging tightly a skag plush almost big as her.

Jack did not realize that a soft smile appeared on his scarred face. That photo was making him think of Angel. Of the photo of her that he kept on his desk in his office on Helios.

He shook his head, realizing that his mind was drifting towards memories that were better left where he hid them and decided that he had to snap out of it.

He flipped the photo and put it back together with the folded drawing and closed the desk's drawer.

Jack returned to pace again around the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably I should start distancing more the updates: I like to have always one or two chapters already drafted out when posting an update, but I'm starting to slow down a bit with the writing... maybe from once every four days to - dunno - once a week or once every ten days or so? I'll think about it.
> 
> Aaand, uh, yesterday instead of writing I spent my afternoon drawing a meme of Jack, Alec and Doc so I'll just leave it [here](https://queerzubat.tumblr.com/post/641488441819987968/two-days-ago-more-or-less-i-made-a-post-on-here) 👀


	7. Two Rakks With One Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec goes hunting, Jack reaches the "acceptance" stage and forces himself to be nice to the kid...and comes up with a new plan during lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have seen, I started giving titles to the chapters... and also I was able to update sooner than I expected to! Yay!  
> cw: mention of drugs in this chapter, idk if it's worthy to being added to the tags or not.

Alec aimed through the scope of his sniper rifle, aligning the shot, waiting for the right moment.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Aim and shoot.

The bullet misses and hits the trunk of the dried-out tree where a couple of Rakks were resting.

The bird-like creatures screeched, startled, leaving the branch and starting to fly up. Circling a small area around the tree.

_Shit! One day I'll have to remember to get a new scope._

He sighed and reloaded, then looked back again through the scope and moved a couple of gears on it to align the crosshair correctly.

Now he'll have to hope for good shots, or the Rakks will be able to find his position because of the rifle's noise.

Aim, breathe out, shoot.

This time the bullet tore through the head of the first Rakk, that fell to the ground lifeless.

The second Rakk screeched in alarm and started flying fast in Alec's direction. Soon it will be swooping down to attack him.

Time to focus.

Reload, shell clinking on the rock where Alec set himself.

Aim. The Rakk opened his sharp beak in a new screech.

Breathe out. Shoot.

And also the second Rakk was hit and fell. Alec smirked and got up from his crouched position on the rocky formation. He pulled the little lever on the barrel of the rifle, sending out the empty shell and loading a new bullet: better keep weapons loaded.

He slung the sniper rifle on his shoulders and walked towards the side of the small cliff where he previously climbed his way up.

Alec descended carefully, but then he jumped the last meter to touch back the ground.

He lifted his head, checking the horizon, his left hand fixed quickly the glasses on his nose. It looked like there was no sign of other members of the local fauna. Good. He wasn't sure of being able to fight some wild skag or spiderant to defend his preys.

Alec started to walk in the old tree's direction, to grab the two creatures he hunted before something - or someone - would notice them. Or him.

He had hoped that breathing some fresh air could have helped him get his thoughts straight and find a solution for his dictator-sized problem, but no idea popped in his mind. And he did not have much time left: soon, Jack's injuries will be in better conditions, if not healed, and the man would be able to kill him.

Alec unsheathed his hunting knife and skillfully removed the spiked tail and the head of both Rakks, then he moved to separate the wings to the rest of the body, doing there most of the cleaning before bringing the preys home.

_I'll find a solution. I don't have to worry: there's always a solution._

* * *

Jack woke up abruptly, with a strangled scream and jerking up in sitting position on the bed. His breath was laboured, skin damp of sweat, heart beating so hard that he was feeling it in his throat.

Wide-eyed, he ran his working hand on his face uncaring of the stinging of the still swollen and irritated scar tissue. He took big breaths, trying to calm down and clear his head.

It was only one of those damned night terrors. One of the many he started to have after that fucking Siren rammed the vault artefact on his face. Sometimes he remembered what he saw in those nightmares and wanted to forget them. Other times, like this one, his mind wiped away whatever he saw as soon as he woke up. And, honestly, it wasn't even the first time he woke up screaming.

His broken arm and injuries were aching terribly, probably during the sleep (he didn't even remember going back to sleep) he must have trashed a lot because of the nightmare.

Jack got up on slightly trembling legs and padded towards the small bathroom, opening the faucet of the sink and wash his face and neck hoping that the water would also wash away that lingering sensation that made his skin prickle.

He stood there, head low, water running from the faucet, right hand gripping the border of the sink.

He needed some more minutes to get it back together.

What did he usually do when it happened before? Usually, he would have gone back to his office and work on some stuff he wasn't able to finish in one sitting. Or took a dose of some drug, usually amphetamines and cocaine or - if the nightmare had been really bad - opted for the dopamine injections to soothe his nerves. Otherwise, probably he would have bothered Timothy to get some extra updates on the jobs he gave him or simply because if he wasn't able to sleep properly, then even his double had to suffer being woken up in the middle of the night. Usually, though, the double would just tell him to fuck off and but give him a reply anyway... other times he would have found him already awake, either because he was pulling an all-nighter or because he too had some trouble sleeping. He was aware of that.

But now? Now Jack had nothing to distract himself. And was stuck in that room for who knows how much longer. And his injuries hurt like a bitch.

"Fuck"

He left his grip on the sink, closed the faucet and walked back in the bedroom. He moved towards the door and looked down towards the floor to search the pill-bottle with the painkillers the kid let him have... and that he promptly threw.

"Found 'em" mumbled, padding towards the little container to grab it from the floor, letting out a pained noise when his stitches pulled on his skin.

Jack struggled a bit to open the pill-bottle one-handed but after a few tries, he unscrewed the lid - that he let fall on the floor - and raised the bottle to his lips to down the two tabs.

He dumped the pill-bottle and moved to get the water bottle from the nightstand. His mouth was too dry to let him swallow the painkillers without some aid.

Jack sat back on the border of the bed, still a bit unsettled by whatever nightmare woke him up to be back to pacing or snooping around the room.

Minutes later, he heard the noise of the engine of a vehicle getting close to the house and then getting turned off.

He heard the entrance door getting opened and closed back, some distant steps and rustling before the steps started to become closer.

The kid's steps walked past the bedroom's door and went probably to another room. Again some rustling, then the steps were back and this time they stopped at the door's height.

Jack stared at the door, waiting.

Then, he heard the sound of the key turning in the lock and the boy opened the door.

Jack remained sat on the bed, staring at Alec that stood on the threshold of the bedroom, eyes behind the glasses darting around the room as if to check that everything was still as he left it. There were some dirt and stains of dark blood on the boy's jeans and combat boots, probably there were stains on the hands that he cleaned up but some faint smudges could be seen at a better look.

"You thought that I'd break something?" he asked the kid

Alec turned to look Jack in the face "Yeah" he nodded "That kinda surprised me"

"I know how to behave"

At that sentence, the youngster cocked an eyebrow "I didn't think you'd have taken my threat seriously"

"I didn't" smirked Jack "I simply wasn't bored enough to waste my energies smashing stuff."

"That sounds more plausible" commented Alec, leaning with his left shoulder on the doorframe. "Anyway, I'm here to tell you that I'm going to make lunch"

"I'm going to have some of that? Or you're just telling me so when you'll leave me here again, I'll think about that and the fact that I only have a nutribar?"

Alec crossed his arms, nose wrinkling. He licked his lips and stood in silence for a few instants as if pondering the reply.

"That attitude won't work on me, old man." affirmed, after the silence "Anyway I was planning on bringing something here, but..." the kid trailed off.

Jack shot him a questioning look, gaze trained on the boy that now looked deep in thought with even a little frown forming on his forehead. He thought if to wait for the other to continue talking, he thought if he could try to take advantage of the kid's distraction to get out and maybe also escape... then he remembered that he didn't have his things nor help to get his ass back on Helios. And that he would have been injured and unharmed in the middle of that dumpster-fire of a planet full of bandits. Probably, at the moment the guy there was his best option at remaining alive. And Jack hated the idea of having to depend on someone else.

"But?" Jack insisted, getting the kid's attention back on him.

Alec sighed and shook slightly his head as if to chase away his previous thoughts.

"But last time I had to do that... heh, let's say it didn't end well."

"So, you're not a first-timer as you told me. You lied." Jack snickered.

"I didn't lie," stated Alec, a thin-lipped smile on his face "You have the honour to be my first prisoner."

That made Jack wonder what the kid was referring to with his previous answer, but he didn't dwell on that. He'll be able to dig up things about his "captor" by spending time with him, maybe asking the right questions.

"Lovely" commented with a sharp smile "You should thank the beginner's luck for having the great Handsome Jack as your first prisoner"

"Yeah, I guess" the kid snorted a small laugh, then he lifted his shoulder from the doorframe and added "You still want lunch? Or you'd prefer being locked up again?"

"Lunch sounds better" replied Jack, getting back on his feet and moving his steps to follow Alec out of the room and letting him lead him to the small house's kitchen.

* * *

His working eye returned to look towards Alec's back, silently watching him busy with preparing lunch. Jack had to admit that even if he didn't see what kind of meat the other was cooking, it had a nice smell.

He also thought again about taking advantage of Alec's distraction to take the hunting knife that the kid had in the sheath clipped to his belt, use it to take him down, search his stuff and go away. And again Jack forced himself to set aside that thought and keep hanging on the idea of using Alec as a way out of there.

There were more probabilities of a good outcome with that... and it'd be similar to when he was a simple code-monkey and took advantage of whoever possible to keep climbing the ladder at Hyperion. Maybe.

Alec's voice snapped him from his thoughts.

"You're kinda quiet" commented the kid, without turning towards the man, "Feels weird, since you're known to be a bragging asshole" snarked.

"I told ya: I know how to behave" he replied. Surely he wouldn't tell him what he was thinking about. Like killing him and getting away. Or how this new domestic setting was making him uneasy again.

"Sounds fake, but okay" the kid shrugged.

"You have the great honour to see a side of Handsome Jack that is rarely seen by the commoners!" added Jack, puffing his chest "You should be thankful, y'know?"

The boy simply hummed in response, continuing busying himself with preparing lunch.

Jack deflated and went silent again. This time, though, he did not go back to his thoughts because he got soon distracted by Alec setting down in front of him a paper plate with some unidentified pieces of meat on it, covered in some unknown sauce. But the smell was inviting.

Alec then sat down a plate for himself, two glasses of water and left the dirty kitchen towel hanging from the back of the empty third chair.

"What's this?" Jack asked, eyes moving from his paper plate towards the kid that took a piece of meat with his left hand and already started to eat.

Alec gulped down the bite of meat "Hot'n'Spicy rakk wings, but don't worry I didn't put too much spicy in them" a little smile and then the kid was back at finishing the piece of wing.

Jack's gaze moved back on his plate and with his hand grabbed a piece of wing and bit it. A bit chewy, but the lightly spicy sauce made its taste kind of good. He finished the piece and moved to another one with gusto.

He caught a glimpse of a pleased smile on Alec's face.

"Looks like you like 'em" commented, dropping a small bone on his plate.

"They're good" nodded Jack, biting the meat still clinging to the wing's bone, "Seems that you're a good cook"

"I had the best teacher" Alec then bit into another piece of wing.

"And who's that?" he asked. Maybe it was a good opportunity to learn more about the youngster, maybe get closer and get his trust. "Your father? Or your mother?"

The boy shook slightly his head "It wasn't them, no time for that", licked the sauce from his lips before continuing "Donnie taught me how to cook"

"The one of the green liquor?" inquired Jack, dropping the cleaned bone.

Alec nodded while biting into another piece of spicy rakk.

"And who's him? Your boyfriend?"

Alec almost chocked on his food and grabbed the glass of water with his right hand, drinking a couple of sips.

"Dude!" he chuckled "Gee, why these questions? You ain't my father!"

"Just trying to have a conversation, y'know like normal people do." shrugged Jack, biting into another piece of rakk wing.

"Yeah, because we're normal people. We're pals." Alec rolled his eyes "To answer you, no he isn't: he's like fifty-two and he's married with kids... even if I have to admit that years ago I had a huge crush on him."

This time it was Jack's turn to almost choke on his food. He coughed and dropped the wing on the plate to grab the glass and drink some water.

Alec snorted a laugh, amused by Jack's reaction.

"What can I say?" chuckled "I'm totally into tall older men that could potentially kill me, preferably bare-handed." a red flush was spreading on the boy's face "I kinda didn't lie when I told ya that you're my type" muttered, before shoving a piece of rakk wing in his mouth to shut himself up. The red flush reached the tips of his ears.

Jack was glad to have put back the glass and still haven't gone back to eating or he'll be choking on food again. He wondered if he'll ever felt so uncomfortable before. Probably not: usually it was him making others uncomfortable with comments or uh- _appreciation_. Yeah, let's call them that. Not the other way around.

"Anyway" continued Alec, after finishing the piece he was eating, "He's my boss at Lucky's, and other than my job he taught me some basics for surviving here...a bit like a father would do. Don's a good man if you see past his 'Underdome star' menacing appearances."

Jack fished another piece of spicy rakk wing and bit into it, trying to think to what he could ask the kid. _Urgh!_ It was better when he could just ask his secretary to pull up background information for him, or when he could do the digging by himself. At least he didn't have to think about how to formulate a question to get all the information he wanted.

"Your parents?" Jack asked, before another bite of food.

"What about 'em?" questioned Alec, lifting his eyes to look at the man.

"You said that you're alone. That this...Donnie or whatever was like a father figure." Jack shrugged

Alec was staring at him with a suspicious look.

Jack pondered for an instant, before continuing "I haven't broken a thing, but I snooped around in the room. You know, it's boring being locked up... and I found that army picture."

"Oh, that one." nodded the kid "That was my parents' battalion, they met like that."

"Both of 'em Dahl soldiers?" Jack arched a brow.

"My father used to be a sergeant, he was in the sharpshooter's division, while my mother was a field medic." Alec took a sip of water "They moved here after an uh- close call during their last mission, something like that, and Pandora was still Dahl territory." Alec then went silent, getting his last piece of rakk wing from the plate and starting to eat it.

Jack remained silent, resuming to eat and finish his last wings and waiting for the kid to continue.

"Then things went south, dad died that I was like ten, years later mom got sick and passed almost two years ago. End of the story, happy now?" snapped the other, dropping on the paper plate the small bone between his sauce-coated fingers, concluding abruptly his narration.

Jack registered in his mind that reaction Alec had while talking about his family. Well, everyone has their touchy topics and often those are linked to family matters. Even for Jack, it was like that.

He observed the kid getting up, throwing away plate and bones and move to the sink to wash away the spicy seasoning from his fingers.

"I have another question," Jack said

"About what?"

Jack was very damn tempted to ask about the other picture he found snooping around but decided that probably it'd be better wait for that. So, he went for his other argument.

"'S not about your family, if you're worried"

Alec sighed "Go on then, shoot me your question." he turned and leaned his waist against the cupboard.

"You said I'm valuable goods and... Okay, I know that I'm great and amazing, but I guess that you weren't referring to that. Am I right?"

The youngster clicked his tongue "Obviously that wasn't the reason I called you that"

"Still planning on trying to use me for that ransom money plan you told me?"

Alec crossed his arms "You're dead. I can't Echo Hyperion and say 'hey, I have your boss. I'll give him back if you give me a bazillion of bucks' or something like that."

"Yeah, that sounds like quite the problem" laughed Jack, leaving his chair to throw away his empty paper plate and clean his hand from the spicy sauce the wings were dipped in.

"Got a backup plan, then?" added Jack, leaning on the counter near Alec.

The kid kept his gaze trained on him, he appeared relaxed but Jack noticed that he never let his guard completely down.

"Some ideas." shrugged Alec "I could still kill you and sell your stuff... I may also know someone that knows someone that could be very happy to get their hands on your corpse."

"That's creepy. But! I think that you wouldn't do that" commented Jack, "You took the trouble of keeping me alive. I don't think that one would go that extent for someone they would kill anyway."

Alec bit on his lower lip and fixed his glasses, it seemed that he was weighing his reply.

"That's the last resort." revealed the youngster.

Jack hummed, a little smile appearing on his face: now he had confirmation that the kid finds him more useful alive than dead.

Then in his mind, a light bulb went on.

"How about I give that money to you?" Jack offered "Since you saved my life and all that jazz"

Alec cocked his head, eyebrows knitting in a questioning frown.

"Isn't that why you saved my 'sorry ass'?" he did air quotes with his working hand "For the money?"

"Well, yes..."

"Then we could join forces, co-operate." smiled Jack "You help me get back on Helios, at my rightful place, and I'll give you a lot of money and whatever you want." he gave the kid a little nudge with his elbow, eyebrow wiggling "How does that sound? Mh?"

It was a long shot, but Jack thought that it could be worth it.

There were minutes of silence that felt too damn long. But he couldn't rush Alec to make a decision. He had to let him think about it and let the kid decide. Jack wasn't worried, on the contrary, he was pretty confident that the boy would accept his offer. Whatever Alec could think to do with him - if he was able to think of another plan, of course - it would never match what he was offering him. And surely the kid understood that. Jack was offering him almost literally whatever he may desire. Only a frigging idiot would turn down such a generous offer! And Alec wasn't an idiot, right?

"Sounds like a deal too good to be true, old man" commented the kid, breaking the silence "But you know what?" continued "'S not like I have anything to lose... so, yeah, why the fuck not?" smiled the boy.

He turned towards Jack and offered his right hand "We have a deal, let's join forces."

Jack took Alec's hand for a simple handshake, trying to not use too much force as he tended to do with other people as a subtle threat, while his smile widened in a sharp grin "Great! Looking forward to it, kiddo".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Betas We Make Impulse Decisions Like Alec: idk if there are errors or such, my only beta is Grammarly but we all know that sometimes even those things fail...so I hope the chapter is readable LOL


	8. Connecting...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An evening trek, some talking and a quick repair to get back online.

"Then we could join forces, co-operate." Jack smiled "You help me get back on Helios, at my rightful place, and I'll give you a fuckton of money or whatever you want." the man nudged him lightly with his elbow, and wiggled his eyebrows "How does that sound? Mh?"

That was...quite the offer, Alec had to admit that. It was better than any plan he could arrange in the little time available. And certainly more rewarding. That man was rich as fuck - enough to waste money making doubles of himself! - and giving him a big sum of money wouldn't be of any problem. Probably would not even make a dent in his account. Also, Jack said that he'd give him whatever he wanted... maybe he could ask for a ship to get away from there and move to another planet. Honestly, Alec had no idea of where to go once left Pandora. Leaving has been only a distant dream, not something that could actually happen.

The offer was damn tempting but sounded too good to be real. Maybe the man was going to trick him and - in a positive outcome - cut him off and take back his words. In a negative outcome... well, he'll end up dead.

Alec's right leg started bouncing while he chewed on his bottom lip.

Accepting the offer was either going to be nailing the jackpot - no pun intended - or going to be the worst decision he ever made after saving that man's life.

But, in the end, what he had to lose? And didn't he decide that if it was time to go big or go home, he certainly wanted to go big?

"Sounds like a deal too good to be true, old man" Alec broke the silence after taking a deep breath "But you know what?" continued "'S not like I have anything to lose... so, yeah, why the fuck not?" a little smile appearing on his face.

Then he turned to face Jack and offered him his right hand "We have a deal, let's join forces".

The man took his hand, his grip strong but not excessively, sealing their "deal" with that simple handshake.

"Great! Looking forward to it kiddo."

Jack's smile widened in a sharp grin and Alec found himself thinking that he may just have done the closest thing to making a deal with a devil from one of those old stories.

* * *

It was now late afternoon, almost evening probably, but it wasn't easy to discern the right time on Pandora whether it was the day or night cycle. The lightning in both cycles was somewhat always constant except when there was dawn or sunset. During day cycles the sun was almost always burning hot and during night cycles the temperatures would drop and everything would fall into that semi-darkness leaving the stars and Elpis' reflected light as only sources of natural lighting.

Alec and Jack were trekking on the rocky cliff that was near the kid's house - a small square-ish building that probably in origin was some kind of small storage - to reach the top where there was the cell tower that Alec needed to fix.

Jack was grumbling for most of the trek, but still following the boy: it was better than being locked up again in a room and having to wait. But with his not fully healed body, the hike was becoming tiring for him. He stopped walking, taking a breather and fixing the baseball cap the kid made him wear. It was dark grey with "Dr Ned's Zombie Island" printed on it in a red bloody font. He also had to wear an army green jacket, with the collar raised to cover his face as much as possible even if his mask was still kinda recognizable. At least he was able to wear the mask again... and his usual sneakers, the only thing that he wore back in the Vault that has been salvageable.

Alec stopped in his tracks, adjusting the small backpack on his shoulders, and turned towards Jack "You need another pause, old man?" snickered.

"Shut up, kiddo." grunted him "You'd need a break too if you were at the brink of death only a couple of days ago like me"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." the kid nodded, walking back to reach the man "C'mon, stop whining like a kid: we're almost there and you'll be able to rest for how much you'd like! Chop chop!" he chuckled.

Alec returned to hike up that rocky path - that wasn't a real path from the looks of it - and Jack huffed, begrudgingly going back to follow him.

The "almost there" turned up to be another thirty minutes trek before seeing the top of that rock formation. And not surprisingly, there wasn't much on there. A flat-ish rocky nothingness with a cactus, a bunch of stones, and a patched-up repeater that probably was as old as it looked. Some cables run down from it to another side of the cliff, disappearing between rocks and stuff, while others were connected to a seemingly old generator not too far from the cell tower.

"Now, you can rest" smiled Alec, turning towards the man "there are plenty of rocks to sit on, I'll be busy for a bit fixing this old bastard" added, sticking his right thumb in the repeater's direction.

Jack looked at him, then he walked to a boulder that looked chair-sized and sat on it, gaze moving back to look at the kid that reached the repeater and dropped his backpack on the ground to open and rummage in it.

"Tell me, again, why we need to do this?" huffed Jack, putting his elbow on a knee and rested his head on the hand.

"We?" repeated Alec, turning towards him.

"...you" the man corrected himself.

"I've told you like...uh...yesterday?" Alec frowned "Or it was...well, whatever, time doesn't make sense to me at the moment. Haven't slept enough." he shrugged, then resumed his talk, "Anyway, as I told you before I went to work: there's not enough signal without this guy here" he opened a panel at the bottom of the cell tower "If you want me to help you get back to Helios, we need a plan. But it's not easy to make one if we can't even pull up a map from the Echonet or something like that."

"Oh, yeah, right" nodded Jack, going back silent and letting the kid continue to tinker with the repeater.

Then the other's words sank in.

Jack perked up, lifting his head from the hand "When did you last sleep, kiddo?" he asked, surprising himself with the concerned tone that his voice took.

"Uhh..." Alec scratched his head "Since I found you, I'm running on power naps. For example, I slept a couple of hours back when I locked you up."

"That's not healthy for you" it's not like Jack had an healthy sleeping schedule but - hell! - he is an adult with a lot of things on his plate! Other than his plans related to the Vault, he had a company to run!

"Tell me about it" huffed Alec, tossing a couple of rust-eaten... somethings? - they were too ruined and small to understand what they were - behind his back "It's rare for me to be able to sleep properly, insomnia or something like that... but if I keep myself busy I don't feel the tiredness or the need to sleep." he shrugged "I've been like this since... since mom."

"Have you-"

"Gotten a check-up? Yes, and Doc suggested trying to take sleeping pills... but they made me blackout too much for my taste, so I stopped."

Alec closed the panel and rose to his feet to move to reach another panel on the repeater and open it.

"And now there's you." added the boy "Even if now we're kind of allies, I still don't trust you."

"I can understand" Jack sighed "But still, you should try to sleep"

"I'll try when I'll be back from my shift" offered Alec, cutting away a couple of corroded thin cables "Having you locked away could help me feel a bit safer, probably." shrugged.

"Do what you think it's better." Jack conceded.

Alec turned towards the man, a smudge of grease on his left cheek "What's up with the kindness?"

"Wha-...what do you mean?"

"I 'unno" he shrugged "it just kinda sounds weird hearing you being worried over me... ya know, after you tried to strangle me."

"We're on the same side now" stated Jack "And I care about my team" he rested again his chin on the hand. Eyes locked on Alec that meanwhile returned to fixing the cell tower.

Jack remained in silence for a few more minutes, mulling over his next words. Then he sighed "I didn't brag about that, but I am... well, I was a father. I am able to worry over a kid."

"'m not a kid. I'm an adult, I'll be twenty in a few months" complained Alec, then he stopped what he was doing - as if something had struck him - and turned again to look at Jack "A father, uh? Wait, 'was'? So, you mean..."

"I don't want to talk about that, now." he doesn't even know why he thought to bring that up. Probably just to earn points from the kid and get his trust faster. _It was that, yes. Of course._

"Don't worry, I won't insist. I can understand how you may feel... maybe not the same thing, but something close to that" said Alec in a soft tone. Was that pity? Jack didn't want any pity from that child bandit.

The boy closed the second panel with a satisfied sigh and walked towards the small generator to check it up.

Then he stopped midway and turned towards Jack "Wait a second"

Jack shot him a confused look, brought back from his thoughts.

"You... Did you just low-key son-zone me?"

"I... what?" the confusion on Jack's face became more visible "What do you mean?"

"Oh, my frigging god!" Alec groaned, tilting his head towards the sky "Handsome Jack just son-zoned me! Yet another man seeing me more like a son: I'll never get over it." he complained, resuming his walk to the generator.

"Well, duh." commented Jack "Firstly, I'm twice your age and, obviously, I could see you more like a kid or a son than anything else. Secondly, I'm only into girls even if it appears to be a rare occurrence around 'ere."

"I guess so..." Alec shrugged, crouching in front of the small generator "okay, let's see if the lil' guy here still works" mumbled, checking the power-cell and flipping a couple of switches.

The generator did not start working. Alec huffed, annoyed.

Jack kept his eyes on him, distractingly observing the youngster flipping back off the switches, carefully disconnect the small power-cell and check the connectors.

Alec then installed back the power-cell, verified that it was correctly connected, then went back to flip the switches but this time a bit slower.

A couple of minutes passed, but the generator didn't boot up. Again.

"The fuck, dude?!" barked Alec, rising to his feet and hitting the generator with a kick.

Surprisingly, this time the generator started working.

"It needed some convincing" smiled the boy, dusting his hands off and turning towards Jack.

He snickered "Percussive maintenance usually works"

"Now, time to see if it connects to the Echo network..." Alec moved back to the repeater and opened the panel that protected a screen, a small keyboard, and some other buttons and switches.

Jack got up from the rock he was sitting on and walked closer to the boy to see what he was doing.

"This thing is pretty old" he commented.

Alec winced, probably not expecting to hear Jack right behind him "Uh- yeah, it's from way before Atlas kicked away Dahl from Pandora" he waited that the system completed the reboot, then pressed a couple of buttons to load the diagnostics interface to check the system's status.

Jack rested his chin on Alec's head, observing the other's doing.

Everything appeared to be working fine, given the outdated system and the hardware that was one step from being kept together with duct tape and spit.

The boy closed the diagnostics and moved to the system's settings to connect the repeater to the network.

"Wait" chimed Jack, raising his right hand and pointing at an icon on the screen "go to the manual settings panel"

Alec almost flinched again at the man's words, stopping what he was doing "Uh- why?"

"Just do that, okay?"

Alec sighed and pressed the keyboard shortcut to open the manual settings screen. "And now?"

Jack moved a little bit and now his head was hovering over Alec's right shoulder "I think that I could tune up this piece of crap" with his right hand lightly swatted away the shortie's hands, then he opened the dialog window and started typing some strings of code.

Alec had no idea of what the man was typing, probably understanding only something like a three percent or less of all the code and commands Jack was typing away.

He fixed his glasses on his nose, eyes darting from the code to the man's focused expression on his too-close face. Alec hoped to not be blushing again. He looked back at the strings of code on the screen.

"Hmm... this should do," muttered Jack, pressing the enter button on the keyboard "The whole thing needs a real upgrade, but we can settle for this"

"Before work, I'll swing by Nick and ask him if he can find anything useful... but it's better not getting our hopes up."

"Who's Nick?" Jack quirked an eyebrow, moving just enough to watch the shortie in the face.

"The local mechanic, a sort of handyman honestly. He's good at repairing a bunch of things, used to be a sort of nomad scav before settling in Last Chance..." Alec explained, "Nick has some connections here and there, so maybe he could help to get some tech to fix this."

Jack hummed "I guess this Nick could find something, then" he moved his hand to point at Alec's Echo device "Check if now it's connected."

Alec nodded and unclipped his Echo from his belt, keeping it angled so that even Jack was able to look at the screen, then pressed the "on/off" button to restart it. Both of them waited for the device to complete the boot-up and then a pleased grin appeared on their faces.

"Well, well, well," started Jack

"Looks like we're finally back online" concluded Alec "Now we can go back and work on a plan"

"I can wait until tomorrow." Jack shrugged, at this point, he guessed that he could spare some more hours "You'll have work in, like, few hours? And also you need to catch some sleep: I need you fully functioning, 'mkay kiddo?"

"Well... okay, 's fine." nodded Alec "I guess some proper rest would be nice before throwing ourselves in... whatever will have to do."

"Attaboy" smiled Jack, ruffling the boy's hair.

_Do. Not. Get. Attached._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to you all for sticking up with me, even if this chapter isn't that good- I couldn't find a way to get it better... sorry :/  
> As usual, let me know if there is any error that needs fixing or your thoughts and such: comments are always appreciated~


	9. Dead Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> or "bonding through trauma"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: blood and slight body horror

Everything will go well. _It has to._ Everything will be fine.

Alec kept repeating those phrases like a mantra. Like he used to do until two years before.

Before he started his shift at Lucky's, Nick told him that he'd try to reach out to some of their contacts to find anything useful for fixing and upgrading the old repeater. Donnie also said that it was okay to take some time off work to try out bounty hunting and fatherly warned him to be very careful and get back alive and in one piece. Alec internally grimaced at the idea of having had to lie also to Donnie but obviously, he couldn't tell him the true story so he opted for the same lie he gave to Doc: he got a gig as a bounty hunter thanks to a friend's friend.

Everything will be okay.

Alec moved the right arm that had draped over his eyes, sighed and simply stared at the ceiling in silence.

Unable to fall back asleep after only... how much this time? His hand was moved to the nightstand to grab the Echo device and check the time on the display. An hour and a half. _Goddammit_.

He used to sleep deeply but in the last handful of years, he became a light sleeper to be able to wake up quickly if his mother needed help. He did not care about his sleep schedule if he could be of any help.

But then... then sleeping became too hard. He became too restless every time he tried to fall asleep.

The house was too quiet. Too empty. And felt heavy.

The good thing about the repeater needing frequent maintenance to keep working is that if he didn't do it and broke down, he would have at least something to keep him away from spending all his sleeping hours browsing the Echonet. With nothing else to do, he would have had to fall asleep out of boredom or because his body couldn't tolerate being awake anymore.

He was keeping the Echo device in his hands, lifted over his head to look at the screen without shifting from his position on the bed. Alec thought about digging up some Echotube short to watch and pass time. Or searching for some interesting Wiki article to read and keep his mind busy with something.

His fingers skimmed over the screen, then they moved to tap the icon to open the Echo's memory archive and search between the many folders the one he needed and that he hid in a small maze of subfolders.

Once he located it, Alec opened it and looked at the few logs saved in there. It has been a while since he last played them.

He moved his left arm to reach out to the big skag plushie, then he turned on his side and curled up around it.

The attention returned to the Echo, lowered the volume as much as possible - so low that he needed to keep it pressed to an ear to listen - and played the first audio log.

"Hey, sweetpea!" said a male voice, his father's voice, between the crackling of the file "I'm sorry, really, really sorry but daddy can't be home for your birthday." the voice was honestly apologetic. "I know I promised you, but they didn't grant me the days off." there was a pause, between the static of the old slightly damaged file Alec recognized a sigh "I'll make up to you, sweetie. I swear. Happy seventh birthday, can't wait to hug you again!" then the audio file ended.

Alec stayed still for some more seconds, still hugged to the big stuffed animal, before moving the Echo from his ear just enough to see and tap another file, dated some years later.

"Dear, sorry but I'll be home very late today," said his mother's voice, "We had some extra emergencies at the infirmary, I'll try to be home as soon as possible. Be careful, okay?" then the log ended.

Alec sniffled. Then looked at the other files in that folder: there were two short videos and other audio files.

He hesitated, but then didn't play them.

He set the Echo aside and curled up more on the bed, hugging tight the big plush while the two audios kept replaying in his head.

He felt so _damn_ alone.

He hoped to fall asleep soon.

* * *

Jack opened his eyes and he was in his room on Helios, he blinked a couple of times and rubbed his eyes and face.

He must have dreamt everything: the barely surviving the Vault, the getting kept prisoner by a frigging young bandit and then promising him money to get him back on Helios.

It was surely one of those weird Vault-related dreams he started to have after that frigging bitch of a Siren smashed that artefact on his face.

Jack raised from his king-sized bed and gripped his Echo to check the notifications while he padded towards the big bathroom to freshen up. He opted for a shower, then he dressed up and left his mansion to go to his office.

Jack was starting to get bored listening to a couple of researchers explaining extensively their very valid reasons for requesting more funding when he started thinking that there was something... _off_. He couldn't pinpoint what it was, though.

He shoved aside that thought and returned his attention to the researchers.

Jack rose to his feet, interrupting the duo and their blabbering about needing funds. Then, he unholstered his pistol and shot both of them: the first in the forehead and the other, that started scrambling and running towards the doors, in the back.

He grumbled dropping the gun on his desk and called Meg, his secretary, through the intercom and told her to make someone from janitorial come to his office to clean the mess before the blood stains the carpets.

Jack still had that weird feeling that something was wrong.

He drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair while swivelling it to face the floor to ceiling windows showing Elpis, bathing in the cold light reflected by the moon.

Then... Then suddenly everything became chaotic and confusing.

In an instant, Jack was no more in his office but was back in that abandoned place together with his wife. They were both screaming at a bandit, Grogmouth, imploring him to let go of their little daughter.

He already knew how that story was going, but he couldn't do anything but being a spectator inside his own body. Angel screamed, the turret went off and started shooting. Grogmouth fell under the bullets, but even his wife. Jack heard himself scream in despair and anger.

In less than a second, everything changed again.

He was in Eleseer, in Elpis' Vault.

He was laughing, laughing maniacally while the artefact was giving him the knowledge he wanted and he needed for his plans.

Then there was hot white burning pain flaring on his face and eye, the artefact breaking and almost melting his skin when Lilith punched it in his face.

The pain was searing. He was screaming again, out of his mind, he didn't know if he was screaming for the rage that was boiling in his veins or for how much his whole head was hurting.

Everything hurt.

Every inch of his body was screaming in pain.

Jack opened his eyes, which he didn't even remember closing, and noticed that he was kneeling inside the Vault of the Warrior.

His scar was burning and hurting, he was feeling blood dripping out of wounds on his body, around him there were many shadows but he couldn't make out if they were the Vault Hunters or not.

"Urgh...come on... COME ON!" he heard himself shout.

"Come on sons of a bitch!" he shouted again, towards the shadows circling him.

"Which one of YOU FUCKING MURDERERS HAS THE FUCKING BALLS TO KILL THE HERO?!" he taunted, he wanted to laugh but his laughing transformed into coughing blood.

"Or... or you're such FUCKING COWARDS THAT WILL LEAVE ME BLEED TO DEATH, UH?" he tried to get up, but he had not enough strength to move from that position "Come on!" he exclaimed again.

Something between the shadow shifted and one of them started to walk towards him.

"Jack." said a distant voice.

The defiant smug grin on his face dropped when the shadow took the appearances of his first wife.

"Jack, stop fighting. This is over." she declared.

He tried to say something, to bark back something, but words died in his throat. He coughed more blood.

She moved some steps more, appearances changing into his own features. No, it wasn't him. It was his double.

"Timmy" he called him "Timmy, fuck, help me get back on my feet. I'm _this close_ to destroying those frigging bastards!" continued "I'm _so close_ to make Pandora a real paradise!"

"No" stated the double, looking down on him. "You brought this to yourself, you asshole" growled Timothy, now there was a matching bloody scar on his face "And this is going to end here."

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" howled Jack "AFTER ALL I DID FOR YOU! IF IT WASN'T FOR ME YOU'D STILL BE A FUCKING NOBODY!" he spat "AFTER ALL I HAVE DONE FOR YOU, YOU-" but his words died on his lips when Timothy's features changed again and now facing him there was Angel.

His beloved daughter.

She was sickeningly pale, heavy dark circles under her piercing blue eyes - same as her mother's -, body gaunt from not moving for so long and being sustained only by Eridium.

"A-... Angel" he muttered.

"Dad, just give up already." her tone was cold and she was staring down at him.

"What... what are you saying, kitten?" his mismatched eyes were fixed on his daughter's face.

"You deserve to die." she said, flatly.

"How... how could you say that?!" he roared "I'm your father, Angel!"

"You isolated me! You hooked me to computers and to Eridium!" she spat back.

"It was for your own good! You couldn't control your powers an-"

"BULLSHIT" she cut him off, anger on her emaciated face "You used me! You did not care about me!"

He tried to say something, but again he couldn't get the words out.

"Look at what you did to me!" liquid Eridium started dripping from her mouth and eyes, purple-tinted veins glowing under her pale skin.

"They killed you, Angel!" his voice was coarse as if he never used it in a long time.

"No" she shook her head, crying Eridium-filled tears "It was you. I died because of you, Jack."

Jack suddenly was engulfed by the shadows, he was not able to see anything, there were many voices around him - screaming, talking - some closer and some distant but everything sounded muffled.

He was screaming, his body and scar flaring up in searing pain, he felt something lunging at him, grabbing him, trapping him.

Jack shouted, tried to free himself from the grip of the shadows, he tried to free his arms to try to defend himself, to grab whatever in those shadows was attacking him.

_Jack!_

Between the many voices in the shadows, one was starting to sound more clear. But he continued trying to free himself from the attacker in all that blackness that surrounded him.

He struggled a lot but finally, he was able to move enough to close his hands around something in the shadows and started to squeeze.

_Jack... shit-_

He felt hands grasping his wrists, he instinctively tried to tighten his grip. Whatever it was in the darkness, it let out a gasp of pain. _Good_.

"Jack" gasped the voice "C-cut it... cut it out!"

Nails were digging in his skin, but it did not let go.

He heard wheezing, he heard the voice calling out his name again. Jack did not stop, he had to kill his unidentified attacker.

"J-... Jack..." gasped the voice.

Then something struck him straight on his jaw.

Jack howled in pain and surprise, hands leaving whatever he was strangling and running to his face.

"Wake... wake the fuck up!" the voice spoke again, it sounded raspy and pained, he felt hands grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

Then something, someone, slapped him hard.

He blinked, looking around, trying to focus his gaze on his assailant. He moved his arms and tried to punch whatever was in front of him, but his arms were grabbed again.

"JACK!"

This time his working eye was able to focus. He blinked, and he finally actually saw.

He was lying on the bed, sweaty and half-tangled in the bedsheets. Alec was straddling him to keep him still and was still gripping his arms. The youngster's cheeks were streaked by tears, eyes red and puffy with the usual dark circles under them, his neck was already starting to bruise.

"Pandora to Jack, are you with me old man?"

"A-... Alec?" his throat was sore and hurt.

The kid offered him a tired smile "Finally you've come to your senses" he let out a sigh, lifting his grip on Jack's arms "You almost scared me".

Jack stared at the boy hopping off him and climbing down the bed.

"What..." he croaked, trying to shuffle out of the tangled bedsheets.

"You had a nightmare" stated the boy, a hand running to massage his throat "I rushed in because I heard you screaming, and you were thrashing around so I tried to keep you still or your injuries would get worse" he explained, calmly "I'm kinda surprised that you didn't wake up when I grabbed your broken arm"

Jack lowered his gaze to his bandaged left arm, then to his side whose bandages now were stained red.

"It hurts like a bitch. Even more than before." he flopped back on the mattress.

"That doesn't surprise me!" Alec huffed a small laugh "I'll go grab the medikit, but I can only give you a low strength hypo at the moment." added, before leaving the room.

* * *

"You okay, kiddo?" asked Jack, while the other was busy bandaging back his side after cleaning the wound and injecting the new hypo to stop the bleeding caused by the stitches pulled during his nightmare.

"I should be the one asking you, old man" smiled the kid, tying the bandages and lifting his eyes back to Jack's face.

"I could've killed you"

"But you didn't" chuckled "And don't worry, I won't let myself get killed by a sleeping man: it'd be kinda humiliating!"

Jack squinted "I don't know if you are a bit too confident in yourself or if you lack the sense of self-preservation"

Alec stared at him and shrugged "Probably both".

That answer earned the youngster a concerned look by Jack.

"It's not the first time that I deal with similar crap" he lifted again his shoulders "But honestly I wasn't expecting the strangling... but you didn't expect the punch, so we're even".

Jack lifted his good hand and reached for the boy's neck, he flinched slightly but then let him run his fingers on the bruising.

Shit, he almost killed Alec. No, _no_. He almost killed _his only way out_ of there: without him, he'll be alone and won't be simple going back to Helios.

_Do not get attached, Jack. He's a tool, only that._

His mismatched eyes moved from the bruise to Alec's face, looking at his eyes still red and puffy, and at his face still wet with tears.

"You were crying" Jack moved his hand from the bruise to Alec's cheek.

For a moment, his mind flashed back to the boy's worried face when he woke up, then flashed back to his nightmare, to Angel's crying face.

He lowered his hand.

_Shit_.

"Well, uh-" Alec shifted his eyes away, towards the wall behind Jack, drying his cheeks with the back of a hand "Not your fault, I'm kinda lame..." he sniffled, eyes returning to meet Jack's "...but your screaming kinda helped me snap out of that."

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Alec raised his hands to stop him.

"Don't ask why." he said, "I won't ask about your nightmare and the stuff you screamed if you don't ask me why I was crying."

Jack frowned, but then nodded "Alright, kiddo."

"Great" smiled Alec, patting Jack's shoulder and leaving his sitting position on the bed to set the medikit box away.

Jack accepted the painkillers the kid offered him and washed them down with some of the water still in the bottle on the nightstand.

"The painkillers should make your arm stop hurting soon, try to go back to sleep", said Alec walking towards the door "This time I won't lock it, so I'll be faster if you need to be woken up again."

"Try to sleep too," said Jack, keeping his gaze on the other.

"Insomnia, remember?" smiled the kid "I was able to get...dunno three hours or so of sleep before this... not at once but still, I should be okay. I don't want to struggle again to fall asleep." he sighed and leaned on the doorframe "I'll probably watch something on the Echotube or dunno." he shrugged "I should have some pirated movie that I still haven't watched."

He watched Alec stopping leaning on the doorframe and walk out of the room to go back in his.

_Goddammit, Jack. He's only a tool to get back to your rightful place on Helios. Don't fuckin' go soft with him._

"Could... we watch it together? If you want, kiddo." Jack said, moving his eyes away from the door and looking in front of him "I'm not feeling getting back to sleep after that dream." he was honestly still shaken by that and anything that could work as a distraction would be ideal.

_It's only to get his trust. I'm not getting too soft or attached. I need him to trust me so I'll be sure he'll help me._

Jack was starting to think that the boy ignored him, and was quite surprised in seeing Alec getting back holding under one arm an old laptop - covered in colourful stickers - and his Echo, and under the other a big skag-shaped plush and a bag of potato chips. The plush seemed the same he saw in that photo hidden in the desk, only a bit ruined (or well-loved) after many years.

He stared as Alec circled the bed and climbed on the free side, putting the skag plush between them, then opened and set the laptop in a way so both of them could see the screen.

"I have a movie that you may like," Alec said as if it was the most normal thing watching a movie with Jack. That was his prisoner slash temporary ally. That almost strangled him, again.

"What's that?" Jack asked, shoving his uneasiness in the back of his head: if he wanted to not feel weird, he should have kept his mouth shut instead of offering some company.

Alec plugged his Echo into the laptop and started scrolling through the maze of folders-in-folders to reach the one where he hid the illegally obtained movies.

"It's called 'Fight Club' and-"

"Oh! That's my favourite!" Jack didn't notice that on his face appeared a sincere smile, one that wasn't full of malice or ill intentions. "C'mon, hit play kiddo!"

It felt weird, too domestic, too _familiar_. It was bringing his mind back to the times when he watched cartoons with Angel before hell broke loose in their life.

For a moment, he let his mind wander over those memories. Then he shoved them back in their hidden angle of his mind and focused on the movie.

He won't let a close call with death, a nightmare and a kind-hearted youngster turn him into a sentimental loser. He is Handsome Jack.

_I won't get attached._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter made me struggle a lot because I had no idea on how to write the nightmare scene properly and also I was worried that in the end I was going ooc with Jack... but after letting the chapter simmer before reading it again, it doesn't look out-of-character as I feared. _Probably._  
>  As usual, let me know if there is any error that needs fixing or your thoughts and such: comments are always appreciated~  
>   
> Oh! And I made a [new meme](https://queerzubat.tumblr.com/post/644182094307803136/i-may-have-made-a-comic-sans-choose-your-fighter) with Jack, Alec and the other ocs that appear in the fic! I'm also working on trying to make an intro-card thingy for every oc, but that will take more time I guess.


End file.
